MIP London‘s organizers say the debuting event has attracted buyers from the likes of Netflix, ITV and Disney.
More than 80 companies have committed to the event in February next year, according to RX France. They include buyers from Al Jazeera, AMC Networks International – Central and Northern Europe, Canal+, CBC/Radio Canada, France Télévisions, ITV, M6, MBC, National Geographic, Netflix, Nine Network in Australia, NRK in Norway, Seven One Entertainment Group, Sky, Telefonica, France’s TF1 The Walt Disney Company and Germany’s ZDF.
Distributors confirmed include Armoza Formats, Beta Film, FilmRise, FOX Entertainment Global, Global Agency and PBS Distribution.
Attracting Fox Entertainment Global, which hosts its own London TV Screenings event during the same week, is something of a coup. The company has joined the MIPFormats Pitch even as a presenting partner, while the MIPDoc Pitch and MIPDoc Co-Production Summit have also been confirmed for MIP London. They were previously run at MIPTV.
RX noted that advisory boards are now in place to shape the MIPFormats and MIPDoc London editions, comprising unscripted execs from ARTE France, Banijay, Curiosity Inc., Fox, Fremantle, National Geographic, Nine Network, Off The Fence, PBS Distribution, Quintus Studios, RTL Hungary, The Bridge, TF1, TV4 and ZDF Studios.
The MIPTV FAST & Global Summit will also move to London, along with the popular Fresh TV presentation, which is held by The Wit’s Virginia Mouseler.
MIP London was created earlier this year, as Deadline revealed, as the long-running MIPTV held its final edition in Cannes, France. While RX has been at pains to stress MIP London is not a like-for-like replacement, much is riding on its success.
February has been dominated by the London TV Screenings over recent years. That screenings week was in part a reaction to the falling numbers at and fading importance of MIPTV, with major distributors such as All3Media International, Banijay Entertainment, Fremantle and ITV Studios initially teaming to create it. Most other major UK and European distributors have since launched their own screenings and one of the major questions about MIP London is whether buyers will flock through its doors when most have traditionally used the week to assess slates through exclusive screenings. Enthusiasm for the event has been muted, with some exec privately questioning the logic behind its launch. As with any event, the verdict will come in the numbers.
It should be noted the London TV Screening was itself in part borne out of the mega-success of the BBC Studios Showcase, which at one point was considered the biggest single-distributor sales event outside of the U.S. This year, the BBC moved its event into the London TV Screenings fold for the first time. MIP London Director Lucy Smith has previously insisted her new market will be complementary to the London TV Screenings, and not a competitor.
“More people coming to London means more business done in what has become the must-attend content week in February,” said Lucy Smith, Director of MIP London and MIPCOM Cannes. “Whether you are a company already hosting a screening event, planning to visit for the first time, or simply there to see more people, with this new MIP market our aim is to be complementary to existing events by providing additional opportunities to meet, showcase or discover content across the week. Plans for our centrally located hub and programme are really taking shape and we are hugely encouraged by MIP London’s early momentum.”
The event will be held February 23-27 at the Savoy Hotel and IET London conference center in the West End. RX is billing it as “a five-day programme of networking, screenings and genre-specific summits”
