Eva Longoria, China and even artificial intelligence (AI) will be in the spotlight this Monday at Mipcom, the largest international audiovisual content market organized with great fanfare in Cannes, in the south-east of France, and despite the heavy geopolitical news which weighs on its programming.
More than 11,000 participants from around a hundred countries are expected until Thursday on the Croisette for this 39th edition, preceded on Saturday and Sunday by Mipjunior, focused on youth programs, according to its organizer RX France.
China is full of pomp, Russia is absent
Guest of honor, as in 2018, China is coming in force, sending more than 300 representatives and nearly 40 companies, the largest presence in the country since 2019, before the Covid crisis. And this, despite the censorship that is rife in this country and the accusations of influence or even espionage targeting Beijing and the TikTok application of the giant ByteDance. “We are an international commercial market, where we allow different companies representing all countries to be present,” commented the director of Mipcom, Lucy Smith, in September, when asked about the criticism that the choice of China could arouse. . “It is still the second largest market in terms of television production” behind the United States, she argued.
As in 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is not represented at this high mass of TV, otherwise largely deprived of American celebrities, due to the actors’ strike in Hollywood.
Sean Penn declines “in light of the current situation in Israel”
The event is also caught up in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with Mipcom not being able to say how many of the 70 accredited Israeli delegates will be able to come, explained a spokesperson.
Sean Penn (executive producer and actor of the Australian satirical series C*A*U*G*H*Ton Australian soldiers confused with Americans and kidnapped during a secret operation in a country at war) canceled his visit to the Côte d’Azur “in light of the current situation in Israel”, according to a press release from the producer Fremantle.
The Mipcom will still have its share of glamour. The star of Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria, will give a conference alongside a manager from Banijay, the world number one in independent production of audiovisual programs. And Miguel Bernardeau, revealed in Elitewas to walk the red carpet for the Sunday premiere of the Spanish series Zorro.
Artificial intelligence at the heart of a new “summit”
On the industry side, the vice-president of Chinese technology giant Tencent, Zhonghuai Sun, will speak at a conference. Ditto for the CEO of the American conglomerate Paramount, Bob Bakish, crowned “personality of the year”, or even for the boss of Canal+ Maxime Saada, rewarded with an American magazine prize Variety. Much discussed last year, the rise of FAST TV (“Free ad supported TV”), that is to say free channels broadcast online and financed by advertising, promises to further enliven discussions.
Just like artificial intelligence, at the heart of a new “summit” intended to “prospect on what can happen, the risks and the lack of regulation”, specifies Lucy Smith. AI will also be the star of a new series from the European Alliance (France Télévisions and ZDF), Concordiaon the screening menu, like Ukrainian fiction In her carset at the start of the Russian invasion of February 2022.
More generally, Mipcom will make it possible to assess the extent of the “hangover” experienced by the sector, while streaming platforms tighten the purse strings after years of boom, according to Bertrand Villegas, of the The Wit monitoring institute. “Freezing of orders”, “drama advertising market” and fragmentation of audiences do not encourage creativity and “risk-taking”, he notes. The competition is all the tougher as the “time spent watching video” has decreased in one year, while YouTube is increasingly viewed directly on televisions, adds Philippe Bailly, founding director of the NPA consultancy firm. , which predicts an intensification of the connected TV wars.