MIPTV 2022: A Shrinking Trade Fair with a Concentrated Program

The corona pandemic hit MIPTV at a difficult time anyway: After the smaller spring sister of MIPCOM had struggled with declining popularity over the years, a relaunch was announced for 2020. It was already clear back then that the exhibition area of ​​the fair would be massively reduced and that most of the pavilions and stands outside the Palais des Festival would be eliminated. Instead, there were more places for exchange and networking.

The fact that MIPTV had to be canceled at short notice in 2020 and that a restart was not possible in 2021 either did not make the situation for the organizer RX any easier. In 2022, the MIPTV was held again. So for the first time it became concretely visible how much the fair had shrunk – at least for those who had made the trip to Cannes, which were considerably fewer than in previous years.

At that time, the emptiness that could be observed in many places could partly be explained by the still prevailing travel restrictions, which in particular also meant that there were hardly any visitors from outside Europe. This year, this declaration is omitted. So once again we can say: This time it’s valid. This time it remains to be seen whether the industry can continue to justify going to the Côte d’Azure twice a year.

What is certain is that the classic trade fair will continue to be significantly thinned out. Many large distributors are also on the road at the fair, but save themselves their own stand, such as Red Arrow Studios or Fremantle. However, others such as Germany’s ZDF Studios, Global Screen, Beta Film, Bavaria Media and Leonine Studios are represented with stands. Warner Bros. Discovery is sticking to its classic location outside the Palais, while the beach remains pavilion-free as previously announced for 2020.

The program: Concentration on two days

The earlier suggestion to extend the MIPTV with the preceding events MIPFormats and MIPDoc to the weekend before is now history. As in the previous year, the MIPFormats and MIPDoc events are largely integrated into the normal MIPTV days. The only precedent is the so-called “Super Sunday”, on which screenings take place exclusively for buyers and the Producers Hub & Lounge is already open.

As part of the MIPFormats, a case study on the format hit of the last few months will take place on Tuesday morning: “The Traitors” (10:45 a.m., Marguerite), on Tuesday afternoon the question “Who’s creating the next big hit?” (2:00 p.m. 30 p.m., Marguerite) discussed. On Monday afternoon (3:45 p.m., Debussy Theatre) the MIPFormats Pitch will take place in cooperation with Fox Alternative Entertainment. 89 projects from 27 countries were submitted, and the five finalists are now pitching live in front of a jury for $5,000 and the opportunity to develop the format together with Fox.

And, of course, Virginia Mouseler from The Wit will again present the new formats that have been around the world in recent months. “Fresh TV Formats” is on the program on Monday at 1 p.m. (Debussy Theatre), the fiction counterpart follows on Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. (Debussy Theatre). Small format ideas that are not yet fully developed will also be presented on Monday from 3:30 p.m. (The MIP Lab) in “Fresh TV Garden”. And if you’re an early riser, you can watch Glance’s presentation “One TV Year in the World: Cracking Audience Trends” on Monday at 9 a.m. (Debussy Theatre).

Furthermore, the series festival Canneseries takes place parallel to MIPTV – also connected via the MIPdrama events. Incidentally, this time there is no German production in the fictional competition, but there is in the documentary series competition: Here “Juan Carlos: Liebe, Geld, Verrat” (English title: “Juan Carlos: The Downfall”) by the brothers beetz film production as one of six productions. Speaking of MIPDoc: The Co-Production Summit on Monday morning is only accessible by invitation. On Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. (Marguerite) the question of how to sell local documentaries to international streamers will be discussed, in the afternoon the question will be “What do buyers want?” (3:30 p.m., Marguerite).

Keynote speeches could include ITV Studios Managing Director, Global Distribution and Global Entertainment, Ruth Berry, on Tuesday at 3:45pm (Debussy Theatre) and Anna Marsh, CEO of on Monday at 3pm, also at the Debussy Theatre Studiocanal and Deputy CEO of Canal+ Group. More important for the visitors than all these program items or the number of exhibition stands is how many personal contacts can be cultivated and made – and at least in a much more relaxed form than at MIPCOM last autumn, which was almost overcrowded again.