With very good numbers, showing growth in relation to 2023, and multiple announcements, screenings, keynotes and activations, with the presence of international talent, Mipcom Cannes left behind an excellent feeling that’s more than positive.

*By Luis Cabrera and Ana Paula Carreira from Cannes, France

The past is in the past. We must now let go, live in the present and prepare for the future. This is the motto that a large part of the industry, especially Mipcom Cannes veterans, must now use in regards to this event, which although it shows a reduced version compared to that of previous decades, it is still an unmissable date on the calendar.

Mipcom Cannes 2024 grew compared to 2023 and that’s what’s important, given the situation of the industry, which is fighting against a contraction and, in particular, against the uncertainty generated by where it is going in terms of production and acquisitions.

Still, 10,500 delegates from 110 countries attended the 40th edition of the event, who, according to figures provided by the organization, represented 347 companies, 27 more than in 2023, and with 73 debuting companies participating in the market floor with their own stand.

Among those more than 10,000 delegates, Mipcom shared that there were 3,240 buyers, with the majority arriving from the US, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

This provided opportunities for the Latin American companies present to bring their new titles to regions that can rarely be found in a single trip. “We have had more than 50 meetings with clients,” Paloma García, director of International Sales for Europe and Africa at Caracol TV, said to ttvnews, listing the many countries that have shown interest in their content, from Spain, Greece, Italy, France or Poland in Europe, to the Ivory Coast, Republic of South Africa or Nigeria from the African continent.

Latin American buyers were also satisfied with the number of meetings they were able to achieve in Cannes, particularly those like TVN Chile that are in an important process of growing their production muscle and eager to find business opportunities. “We travel to the fairs to have conversations about where the formats are going, what new things are coming, where fiction is going. FAST conversations too. We are a multiplatform ecosystem, so we generate 360 conversations to understand where the content is going,” said Javier Goldschmied, Programming Director of TVN Chile.

Under the motto Spain: Where Talent Ignites, ICEX, under the umbrella of Audiovisual From Spain, was a great protagonist of the event, with 172 accredited companies participating in Mipcom Cannes 2024, a 50% growth compared to 2023, said the organization.

TURKEY BROUGHT ITS STARS

Turkish distributors and producers have become a key part of this type of event, given the quality and attractiveness of their content. Cannes was no exception and many carried out activations with enormous results with the participation of the talent from their main titles, as was the case of Calinos Entertainment with Hidden Garden; Kanal D International with Secret of Peals and My Mother’s Tale; Madd Entertainment with El Turco; Global Agency with Vendetta and ATV with The Nightfall.

The success of The Nightfall, in fact, prompted ATV to carry out more than one action, including an exclusive dinner for buyers with the talents of the series: “Everyone is very happy” Muge Akar, Head of Sales at ATV Distribution, told ttvnews on the red carpet of the event. “They met the stars, they took pictures. It was wonderful.”

Global Agency, as usual, landed in Cannes with everything, with an exclusive event on Sunday and then multiple activations and news distributed during the four days of the event: “Mipcom has been a very interesting market, in which we have gone to a good number of meetings and they have been quality meetings,” said Iván Sánchez, Sales Director for Latin America at Global Agency.

This has been a very intense Mipcom for Acun Medya as well, where they have made several announcements such as a new local version of MasterChef that they will produce in Germany for Sport1, or the launch of Muscles & Brains, a new competition format, launched together with Talpa Studios. “We also presented a new cooking program to the market called Cash Kitchen, which we have been working on for years, and we believe that it will also be a great success,” added Ebru Atasav Tahrancı, CEO of Acun Medya.

In terms of trends, the conversation went through multiple paths, but the one with the greatest exploration, which many are paying attention to, is FAST. Speaking of Latin America, those who know, as is the case of Filmrise, understand that the audience is there, now it must continue to develop and, with patience, wait for what will come next, monetization: “Latam is a market that is growing little by little, but it is growing. At FilmRise we see that as long as there is growth, and it is constant growth, we are calm. I think that monetization will come. The audience is there. That is the most important thing. The audience, the engagement, the views. And it is a matter of time. There is a lot of potential in Latam,” said Alejandro Veciana, Senior Manager, International Content Sales at FilmRise.

SALES, ALLIANCES, LAUNCHES AND MORE

Mipcom 2024 was also characterized by the large number of announcements made by the distribution companies present at Cannes, especially regarding content sales.

In this sense, Banijay achieved new adaptations of MasterChef, Fremantle brought Nightsleeper to more than 100 territories, Onza extended the presence of its catalogue, Cineflix brought its content to Spain, Nippon TV achieved a new sale for Mother, just to name a few.

Click here to watch all the interviews, announcements and a full recap of Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of the event.

Mipcom Cannes will return with a new edition in 2025, between the 13th and 16th, with MIP Junior taking place on the previous days, the 11th and 12th.