TWELVE CELEBRITIES, ONE HIDDEN MASTERMIND, CAN THEY SOLVE THE CLUES TO REVEAL THE MASTER OF THE GAME AND CLAIM THE PRIZE?
BIOGRAPHY: THE JUDDS
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THE EIGHTH annual MIPCOM who was hosting, alongside di space for all our stories to shine.”
Managing Director: Morgane Morice; Entertainment Division Director - MIPTV & MIPCOM Director: Lucy Smith; Sales Director: Brice Dieulot; SVP Sales & Business Development: Robert Marking; Director UK Sales: Vanessa Van Santen Smith; Marketing Director: Amanda Baird; Conference Director: Tania Dugaro EDITORIAL Editor in Chief: Julian Newby; Deputy Editor: Debbie Lincoln; Contributors: Claire Atkinson, Clive Bull, Ben Cooper, Stuart Dredge, Andy Fry, Sarah Kovandzich, Max Leonard, Jo Stephens; Editorial Management: Boutique Media International; Graphic Studio: studioA Design; Graphic Designers: Harriet Palmer, Sunnie Newby PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Publishing Director: Martin Screpel; Publishing Manager: Amrane Lamiri; Printer: CMPC, Le Muy (France). RX France, a French joint stock company with a capital of 90,000,000 euros, having its registered offices at 52 Quai de Dion Bouton 92800 Puteaux, France, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies register under n°410 219 364 - VAT number: FR92 410 219 364. Contents © 2024, RX France Market.
would be opening for a second round of applications today.
The Representation Of Disability, Scripted, category, was won by season two of One Of Us (produced by Federation Studios and Habanita Federation, France), about disabled
The ceremony then moved to the LGBTQIA+ awards, where the Scripted prize went to Lost Boys And Fairies from Duck Soup Films (UK), which told the struggle of a queer singer and his partner to adopt a seven-year-old boy. The Non-Scripted award went to Y A Une Étoile (There’s a Star), from Canada’s Bellefeuille Productions, for its transgender musical journey through rural Acadia. In the Representation Of Race And Ethnicity categories, the Scripted award went to Three Little Birds (Tiger Aspect in association with Douglas Road Productions, UK), a story inspired by comedian Lenny Henry’s mother’s journey from the Caribbean to the UK in the 1950s. On the Non-Scripted side, the award went to White Nanny, Black Child (Doc Hearts Limited and Tigerlily Productions, UK), a powerful documentary about Nigerian children who were fostered by white British families in the 1970s, and the impact this had on their lives. The final awards were for outstanding examples of Representation Of Diversity In Kids Programming. The Pre-School category this went to Wordville from the US’ Sinking Ship Entertainment, a literary mystery series for young kids. The Older Children prize went to Windcatcher (Unless Pictures and Every Cloud Productions, Australia), a children’s film about a diverse group of First Nations children and their fight against bullying.
The Diversify TV Awards are supported by: founding partner A+E Media Group; awards partners Telefilm Canada, Canada Media Fund and Webedia; and supporting partner All3Media. “It’s been an honour to witness the growth,” A+E’s executive vice-president and head of global FAST channels Mark Garner said. “It’s days like this that remind us why keeping DEI at the forefront of our businesses is so crucial to becoming the best storytellers we can be.”
11:15 - 11:45
Media Mastermind Keynote JC Acosta Head of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO USA / CANADA Laura Fernandez Espeso CEO, THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO
12:00 - 12:45
Media Mastermind Keynote “Apprentice In Wonderland” Donald Trump’s Rise through Reality TV Ramin Setoodeh Co-editor-in-chief, Variety
13:00 - 13:45 Fresh TV Fiction Presented by The WIT
9:00 - 9:30
Collaboration: The Future of Factual 9:45 - 10:15 The Subtle Art of Integrating Brands into Drama
10:30 - 11:00
MIP LONDON How to Make the Most of MIPs New Market
Conversation with Lucy Smith, Director of MIPCOM CANNES & MIP LONDON
12:30 - 13:00 Go Bigger or Smaller? Adjusting Financing Strategy to Changing Times
14:30 - 15:00
The Secret Sauce Behind the Success of YA series
15:15 - 15:45 YA - The Business of Anime - Beyond the Brand
16:00 - 16:30 Secrets of the Scripted Format: K7 Media’s Tracking the Scripted Giants Presented by K7 Media
14:00 - 14:30 Why YouTube Matters? Engaging Audiences & Boosting Revenue
14:45 - 15:30 Insights that Matter: Fueling your Next Strategic Move Presented by 3Vision, Omdia, RTLAdAlliance 9:00 - 11:00 Connected TV Summit Presented by
18:00 - 19:00
Producers’ Hub Networking Drinks with Cluster Audiovisual Madrid
MIPCOM CANNES delegates who turned out for Paramount’s chief content licensing officer Dan Cohen’s Media Mastermind Keynote were rewarded with the surprise appearance of Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, two fan-favourite cast members from global juggernaut drama series NCIS.
Last seen on NCIS more than a decade ago, the two are now reprising their roles as Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo in a Europe-located spin-off called NCIS: Tony And Ziva.
Explaining the show’s set up, de Pablo said: “I think fans have always wanted to see what happened between Tony and Ziva. So we find them in Europe raising their child who is almost a teenager. They’re trying to make the family dynamic thing work, but in the middle of all that, terrible, dangerous things come up.”
Weatherly, who has starred in Bull in recent years, welcomed the chance to shoot in Europe. “With NCIS I had the opportunity to travel to Australia, Sweden, Italy, Germany, the UK and France, which was incredible. Having Europe as the setting of the show gives it a global feel. It really elevates the storylines and interactions.”
‘I’ve had more discussions about FAST & AVOD during MIPCOM than the rest of the year’
In commercial terms NCIS has been massive for Paramount, Cohen said. “We have 3,000 movies and 10,000 episodes of TV in our catalogue. We’re constantly keeping those in circulation, and they generate a lot of revenue for the company. There are 1,000 episodes in the NCIS franchise alone, and that has generated over $4.5bn of licensing. That helps fuel the production of new things.”
Cohen is also president of Republic Pictures, a revitalised division of Paramount that focuses on indie films, He referenced an upcoming title called Adulthood, directed by Alex Winter from the Bill & Ted movies: “It’s a Coen Brothers-esque caper starring Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario.”
He also made a point of highlighting the latest dramas to come out of CBS Studios. These include Elsbeth, Matlock, Poppa’s House and Watson, which received a screening at MIPCOM CANNES this week.
Addressing market trends, Cohen said the FAST-channel business is “exploding” and Paramount is keen to play in this space. “I’ve had more discussions about FAST & AVOD during MIPCOM than the rest of the year.”
‘Fear
WHEN J A Bayona was shooting his movie The Impossible, about a family in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, he was quoted a price by a big FX house solely for the water-bound parts of the key disaster scene that was several times his whole special effects budget. So he went back to Spain and, with key collaborators,
‘We have passion, attitude and experience’
Diego Betancor
spent a year developing a plan for how to shoot it within budget.
“In the end, it was all real: we didn’t use CGI water, and ultimately it was better for the process. You really need passionate people if you’re going to work on one scene for a year,” he said at the Spain, Where Talent Ignites Media Mastermind Keynote Conversation & Screening on Tuesday. On Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, he brought his key team including producer, cinematographer and sound specialists from Spain — in fact, they had been among his classmates at film school in Barcelona.
His compatriot and companion on stage, respected producer Diego Betancor of Lagrimá Films, agreed: “We have passion, attitude and experience,” he said. “There are a lot of people growing and learning very quickly, and there are so many projects, sometimes I have trouble hiring!”
However, as much as the pair agreed on certain aspects of their
craft, the thought leadership session also highlighted the different perspectives their distinct roles brought. For Bayona, fear was a part of his process — and not just in the horror films he made. “Fear is very rooted in the Spanish tradition. I think we’re passionate — you can see that — but I think also fear runs in and rules over in the Spanish culture,” he said, adding: “Fear is good, panic is not. Fear helps you to be alert, to be 100%. If you’re working on something you really know how to do, it’s not as satisfying as something that really challenges you to give your best.”
On the other hand, Betancor said his job was to create “fearless working environments”, and that a huge part of his role was keeping people motivated and not falling back on tried-and-tested, tired ideas — especially in returning seasons of long-running shows. The challenge was to navigate through what people wanted and find a “Trojan horse — a subject or a topic that I connect with,” he said.
DISNEY EMEA executives highlighted drama Rivals at a MIPCOM CANNES session yesterday, reinforcing the message that Disney+ isn’t just for kids.
The adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s book, set in the 1980s, which UK tabloids have dubbed a “bonkbuster”, started streaming on Disney+ on Oc-
tober 18. The show, with a cast including David Tennant and Alex Hassell, follows a group of individuals who are out for themselves both in the boardroom and in the bedroom.
Diego Londono, executive vice-president media networks and content, The Walt Disney Company EMEA,
shared that it’s a challenge to get content providers to understand that the global streamer carries adult fare.
“We are a Disney-branded service but there is more than just kids and family,” he said.
Speaking to a packed room of content executives at the Producers’ Hub session on Exploring Disney EMEA’s Local Original Productions And Licensing Strategy, Londono said he is currently focused on key markets: France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK and Turkey where his teams are taking pitches. He’s looking for “local for local: local stories, local language. We are not doing broad multi-market English-language pieces. That’s the big focus,” in both scripted and unscripted content. Disney’s approach to co-productions has changed since it launched Disney+ in 2019. Now Londono said
the focus on full commissions has evolved: “We are much more flexible in the types of things we do.”
The company isn’t always taking the first window. In 2025, Whiskey On The Rocks, a co-production with Sweden’s SVT, sees Disney stream the show four months after its partner, but in the rest of the world it’s Disney+ first. “We are open to all of our broadcasters to find different models for us to bring new content to the platform.”
Colleague Paolo Agostinelli, senior vice-president, affiliate and content distribution at Disney EMEA illustrated how the powerful Hollywood entertainment giant is shifting strategy with the times. “It only made sense when we launched direct-to-consumer to protect this new stream by preserving content almost exclusively to Disney+.” But now that Disney’s DTC services are established in 150 million homes worldwide, he said: “There was a need to rebalance our distribution strategy and now it’s about windowing essentially. We want to maximise reach.”
FORMATS continue to grow in importance in the scripted sector, and consultancy K7 Media is tracking the most successful examples in its annual report.
The company is presenting the findings from Tracking The Scripted Giants: The Top 100 Travelling Scripted Formats report 2023-24 at a MIPCOM CANNES session today.
“It’s a big area of focus, because of the tough times the industry is going through right now. If you’ve got a story that’s already worked in other territories, that’s very reassuring to a commissioner who wants to see something with a proven track record,” insight manager Richard O’Meara told MIPCOM CANNES Daily News.
Every year in its report, K7 identifies the top-ranking formats, as
well as the most successful distributors in terms of adaptations that have made it to screen, rather than merely been sold.
“We look at how formats can snowball, when there are a couple of adaptations that do well, which then snowballs into 10 adaptations,” said global research manager Patti Linnett.
“And we also look at how the journey time from a show first launching to multiple adaptations has shortened.”
Linnett added that the scripted-formats space is becoming more diverse, both in terms of the countries creating hit formats that travel and the buyers.
“Even the US, thanks to hits there in the past year or so like Ghosts and High Potential, they are looking more for formats from
elsewhere, because those have been successful,” she said.
MIPCOM CANNES attendees can find out more, including this
year’s rankings for top formats and distributors, at the Secrets Of The Scripted Format session at 16.00 in the Producers’ Hub.
Moon Palace, Cancun, Mexico
19 → 22 Nov. 2024
DAY TWO of the inaugural Innovation Lab began with a series of insightful keynotes that underlined the revolution taking place in viewing behaviour, with traditional broadcast rapidly losing ground to streamers and social TV. Anchoring the Global Streamers Talks session was media cartographer and industry analyst Evan Shapiro, who began the session by exploring data provided by Justin Sampson, chief executive of UKbased industry measurement body Barb Audiences.
Barb’s most explosive finding is that streaming and social TV now accounts for more than 80% of viewing among 16-34s in the UK. Clear market leader in this demographic is YouTube, though Netflix
and TikTok also attract more eyeballs than the BBC.
As this age group gets older, Shapiro questioned whether it would start to have an impact on media policy (which in the UK might mean a reconsideration of the BBC licence fee).
After Sampson, Shapiro interviewed a slew of other executives including David Eilenberg, head of content at Roku. He oversees the Roku Channel, which he described as “a pure AVOD streaming service. My remit covers commissioning content, acquiring a lot of library, FAST and managing digital content as it migrates to CTV [connected TV].”
Eilenberg said it is clear the ad-supported model is back in
the ascendancy: “I believe more viewing will be ad-supported over time. There’s a new genera -
tion of viewers who have grown up with social as their primary delivery system — and that is ad-supported.”
In a similar vein, Eilenberg said there is a clear trend towards digital-first content and creators starting to have an impact in the streaming and broadcast ecosystem.
MIPCOM CANNES’ popular Global FAST & AVOD Summit took over the Innovation Lab on the second day of the market. During a mix of roundtables, panel sessions and presentations, the event provided upto-date information, actionable insights and networking opportunities for delegates seeking to break into this fast-growing market. The event launched with presentations by three pioneers in content distribution.
First up was Mayuko Yamazaki, PR executive manager at Japanese streaming service AbemaTV, which was pioneering FAST before the term was in general usage. Yamazaki explained AbemaTV’s business model and content strategy, introducing delegates to the streamer’s original content and marketing strategy.
A joint venture between Cybe-
rAgent and TV Asahi, she explained how AbemaTV benefited from “CyberAgent’s expertise in user experience and TV Asahi’s
high-quality programming.”
Next up was Jordan Warkol, senior director of business development at OTTera, a white-label solutions provider that helps content owners with monetisation and distribution. Warkol explained the pros and cons of different ways content owners can distribute their content — apps, FAST, VOD, YouTube and other social platforms — and said that FAST offers “a cable-like experience, easy set-up and maintenance — and the FAST platform does the marketing for you. But there are barriers to entry such as market saturation.”
Warkol handed the baton to Tevefy CEO Robert Kviby who provided a demo of Tevefy’s platform, which enables content owners to create and market FAST channels easily and cheaply — without having to rely on major FAST platforms.
INDIAN actor and director Tannishtha Chatterjee is attending her first MIPCOM CANNES to find buyers for her film Bon Appetit, which she wrote and directed. The film, which blends drama and comedy, tells the story of a Muslim cook in Mumbai. “There are a lot of layers and social themes — about women, food, religion, class — but I’ve kept the tone very light and humorous,” Chatterjee said. “The character is not just suffering. She’s a fighter, she’s a manipulator and she’s funny as well. She’s a human.”
Chatterjee’s past acting credits include Brick Lane, Anna Karenina and an awards-garlanded role in Doctor Rakhmabai. Her first directorial feature, Roam Rome Mein, came out in 2019. With her new project, Chatterjee
has taken a deliberate step away from the “dark, violent thrillers” that she has tired of as a viewer. Bon Appetit aims to transport viewers into “a different world and culture, but doing it with warmth”, she said. After a succession of positive meetings at MIPCOM CANNES, Chatterjee said her nervousness about how her film would be received was easing. “I think audiences are ready for all kinds of things,” she said. “It’s the gatekeepers who think ‘no, this is a box and that’s a box and that’s a box’. But sometimes there are breakthroughs, where a film doesn’t fall into any of those boxes.”
Bon Appetit is currently in post-production, with Chatterjee hopeful that it will be available in early-tomid 2025, depending on the deals secured this week in Cannes.
DIGITAL-first entertainment firm Kedoo sees plenty of potential for its hit YouTube shows to reach audiences on streamers and broadcasters.
The company’s big kids’ hit is Booba, which has more than 20 billion views on YouTube and has become one of the top 10 children’s series on Netflix. It has also spawned a line of mobile apps and a popular plush toy.
Kedoo’s latest show, Sonya From Toastville, has accrued more than 128 million YouTube views since its debut in February.
Kedoo’s chief operating officer and co-founder, Oli Bernard, said he is open to co-production offers as well as licensing deals. “There’s a lot of interest,” he added.
Kedoo also makes docu-series for adults, which debut on YouTube but are then available for licensing elsewhere. Recent titles include The Wonder Guys (12 x 60 mins),
in which director Steven Prior and journalist Emily Laing take deep dives into the dark side of Las Vegas, Area 51 and the US border crisis; and Let’s Go (50 x 90 mins), in which Russian journalist Stas Natazon lives with Yakuza gangsters in Japan, explores the slums of Mumbai and visits the border between South and North Korea.
“We don’t deal with influencers,” Bernard said. “We partner with journalists and let them do what they want to do. We remove the editorial constraints there can sometimes be in broadcasting.”
Kedoo’s next frontier is films, having recently released Conviction, a 97-minute feature set in Kyrgyzstan.
“Our motto is producing quality and distributing digitally first, before seeing if we can do a 360 with TV and other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitch,” Bernard said.
YTV’S PLAY INNOCENT HEADS
DOUBLE-crossing contestants are currently a hot trend in reality game shows, which augurs well for Yomiuri TV’s Play Innocent.
The show first aired in Japan in 2021, but YTV has now signed a format-option deal with MoveMe in Germany.
Takeshi Murakoshi, who works in international sales and acquisition at YTV, hopes more deals will follow. “We are selling Play Innocent mainly to European countries,” he said, adding that he is “quite confident” that the format has potential: “It’s a mixture of a traditional quiz game show and something like The Traitors. And because The Traitors was a big hit, I can see the potential of this format.”
Play Innocent sees four contestants collaborating in a quiz, but one of them is secretly trying to lead the others to wrong answers.
“We have put in some very Japanese elements,” Murakoshi said. “The losers are punished in a comical way, which is a really typical Japanese way to entertain people.”
He added: “We are looking forward to the German version of Play Innocent and hopefully we can have more versions of the format in other territories.”
SPAIN has been in the spotlight this MIPCOM CANNES, marking its position as Country Of Honour with a series of events and sessions, and a major presence from the Spanish creative sector.
One of the sessions, Spain: Igniting Global Hits – The Ultimate Audiovisual Hub, took place in the Producers’ Hub yesterday. The conversation on Spain’s production growth was moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody.
drama set in the Canary Islands.
“The natural settings are incomparable with other parts of Europe,” said Marc Dujardin, producer at Le Collectif 64, talking about Zorro. “Also, the quality of technical suppliers and technicians is at the top in Spain.”
Beautiful landscapes were also a big factor in ZDF’s decision to make Weiss & Morales in the Canary Islands, said Susanne Frank, drama director at ZDF Studios.
“Spain has been very popular for a long time, but I think it’s still not on its peak,” Frank said. “There is still room to grow for Spanish productions — in Germany, but also in other countries in Europe and Asia.”
A generous system of tax incentives is helping, including fuelling the ambitions of Spanish production companies.
and use the incentives to retain IP. It’s important.”
Another trend that benefits Spain is growing demand for ‘blue sky’ crime drama, set in bright, sundrenched locations as a contrast to the gritty noir that has held sway over the past decade.
“For us, the sun is in the storyline,” said Frank about Weiss & Morales. “We [already] have a lot of crime shows that are a bit darker, so now is the perfect time to have this kind of lightness.”
‘The quality of technical suppliers and technicians is at the top in Spain’
Marc Dujardin
the technicians in Spain,” added Mike Villanueva, film commissioner at the Castilla-La Mancha Film Commission. “Spain is a special place that has a lot of different issues that make it really unique. It has several different landscapes, and everything is affordable for the producers.”
The session focused on two recent productions: Zorro, the latest reimagining of the famous masked hero; and Weiss & Morales, a crime
“For us as producers it’s very important, because it allows us to retain IP and make stronger productions,” said Nina Hernandez, head of content at Portocabo.
“We have developed from what was originally an audiovisual industry based on public television, where they retain all the rights. But little by little producers have tried to work on co-productions
WITH 25 channels in more than 20 countries, Fremantle’s FAST business is growing fast, buoyed by IP and talent including Baywatch, Jamie Oliver and Family Feud.
Senior vice-president of global FAST channels Laura Florence is looking forward to the sector’s next evolution. “We don’t just want to put catalogue on a channel,” she said.
“How do we make the experience more, through marketing, talent, increased engagement and through educating our production teams?”
She added: “It’s about how we tell better stories and new stories. You can’t just use catalogue. We need to bring new.”
The US still accounts for 90% of Fremantle’s FAST business, but Florence talked up growth in Canada, the UK and Australia, while Germany remains its strongest mar-
ket in the EMEA region, aided by a robust pipeline of local content.
Florence is also excited about the impact of AI technologies on the FAST sector, including tools to restore and up-res old shows, handle dubbing and quickly cut clips for social media.
“All of those things that are time-consuming and costly, we might be able to do more efficiently using AI. I’m excited,” she said. Florence is also banging the drum for “data normalisation” in the FAST world — in other words, standardising the data that is collected from FAST platforms to inform the strategies of producers and advertisers alike. “It helps us as the content creators and the programmers, and it also helps the advertisers, who want more accountability,” Florence said. “As an industry, we have to move together on this.”
TRIFORCE Entertainment’s CEO
Kara Kandarakis is at MIPCOM CANNES with ideas on how streamers can use her company’s XR (extended reality) technology to find new ways to monetise their content, giving SVOD a new tool in its fight against the rise in FAST and AVOD. Triforce specialises in immersive content production and has worked
with luxury brands to create bespoke experiences that enhance their customers’ purchase process. On its stand it is previewing two reels — one scripted and one unscripted, but both based on an apocalypse-survival scenario — that demonstrate non-intrusive ways of inserting advertising into narrative content. If, for example, the viewer points the Triforce app at
‘A new way of experiencing a narrative’
a car on screen, additional content pops up on the phone, which could even include a link to buy. According to Kandarakis, this offers alternative ways of monetising content, potentially adding revenue streams or even changing funding models.
The technology also offers storytelling possibilities. A scriptwriter might, for example, use it to layer additional narratives or viewpoints over the main story in a linear programme. Triforce’s immersive narratives can even incorporate haptic and temperature feedback for people wearing VR headsets. The technology is tried and tested, and has been used in therapeutic and training situations.
“What we’re doing is changing the implementation,” Kandarakis said. “It’s a new way of experiencing a narrative, instead of being a passive viewer. Also, for marketing, it’s perfect.”
A MULTI-TITLE distribution deal between Shout! Studios and Nash Entertainment will bring a library of unscripted programming to digital streaming platforms across all territories.
The multi-year distribution deal provides Shout! with extensive worldwide rights, including streaming, VOD and digital, to more than 18 unscripted shows, consisting of more than 600 episodes. Titles include Amazing Sports Stories, Breaking The Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed, Caught Red Handed, Destination Danger, For Better Or For Worse, For Love Or Money, For Love Or Money Reunion Special, Meet My Folks, Moments of Impact, Most Daring, Most Shocking, Road Trip, Top 20 Funniest, Top 20 Most Shocking, Totally Outrageous Behavior, Who Wants To Marry My Dad?, Who Wants To Marry My Dad? Reunion Special, World’s Most Amazing Videos and World’s Worst Drivers. This deal was brokered by Shout!’s Steven Katz, Range Media Partners’ Michael J Kagan, and Bob Wyman at Davis Wright Tremaine on behalf of Nash Entertainment.
JAPANESE formats are out in force at MIPCOM CANNES, with nine showcased at Monday’s Treasure Box Japan showcase.
Introduced by The WIT CEO Virginia Mouseler and BEAJ (Broadcast Program Association of Japan) executive director Makito Sugiyama, the session saw each format pitched to guest experts Tim Crescenti, CEO of Small World International, and Fotini Paraskakis, founder of Empire of Arkadia.
Man Or Mannequin?, distributed by Nippon TV, is a game show based on finding mannequins hidden around a location, with humans posing as fake mannequins as distraction.
The Tortoise And The Hare (Yomiuri TV) sees two contestants try to improve at a skill — for example, singing, cooking or bowling. The ‘hare’ is given an intense one-hour tuition from an expert, while the ‘tortoise’ spends a week researching the skill at a slower pace.
Swap Project (Fuji TV) sees two people from different countries who share a profession swap not just their jobs, but their entire lives. Quiz 100 (NHK Enterprises) takes experts in topics ranging from ramen and hot springs to Samurai castles and asks them to test their knowledge against 100 ‘fanatics’ — the keenest
fans of the subject in question. Kasso (TBS) is a skateboarding show from the creators of Ninja Warrior, featuring huge courses — water hazards included — and a large cash prize.
In The Middle Of Nowhere (ABC Japan) sees contestants find their way to a mysterious and remote house,
whose residents instruct them in how to live a life of self-sufficiency. Treasure Appraisers (TV Tokyo) is a well-established show in which people have their household treasures valued, while Don’t Show Your Pants (Kansai TV) is an underwear-concealing game show featuring comedic physical challenges. Finally, Celebrity Fight Club (TV Asahi) tasks two celebrities to assemble 25 of their superfans to compete in challenges, earning prize money before the stars face off in the final round.
WHEN Japan’s AbemaTV launched reality show Falling In love With The Wolf, it knew it would be a hit. But what the digital platform did not expect was that the dating show would attract a huge following in Brazil. The concept involves male contestants pretending to fall in love and women trying to guess which love interest is real and which is fake. The show, which was picked up by Netflix, is available at MIPCOM CANNES as both a finished product and a format.
AbemaTV executives are in Cannes for the first time to explore the international appetite for its multi-genre fare. They also took part in yesterday’s MIP Innovation Lab Global FAST and AVOD Summit.
Mayuko Yamazaki, the company’s
public relations group chief manager, said that, in Japan, one in three teenage girls watch reality dating shows like Falling In Love With
The Wolf, which led AbemaTV to hope the format would hold the same appeal for global audiences. Yamazaki added: “We are focusing
on producing new drama series and new animation so we can stream and distribute globally. We feel that we’ve made progress inside Japan and through Netflix. And we feel like there might be the possibility of having a hit outside Japan. That’s our focus in 2025.”
AbemaTV’s MIPCOM CANNES priorities include big-budget drama series from production company Babel Label, which is also producing for Netflix. It is also showcasing variety shows, including Comedy Street Fight, which features comedians battling to be the funniest.
AbemaTV’s parent company, giant Japanese media and ad agency CyberAgent, is also in Cannes with a slate of new animation titles. AbemaTV, which was launched in 2016 by CyberAgent and TV Asahi, claims 30 million downloads of its free FAST platform app.
19-22 November 2024
Cancun, Mexico
23-27 February 2025
London, United Kingdom
11-12 October 2025
Cannes, France
13-16 October 2025
Cannes, France
‘I’ve had an
‘I only knew her as one type of person’
SIR DAVID SUCHET is in Cannes to talk about his travels across the globe following in the footsteps of renowned crime writer Dame Agatha Christie.
Suchet portrayed Christie’s famous character Hercule Poirot for 25 years, appearing in 70 different stories, and now takes on the role of presenter for the Sphere Abacus title Travels With Agatha Christie With Sir David Suchet.
The five-part travel documentary series, produced by Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media, retraces the 10-month journey that Christie embarked on in 1922, aged 31, before she became the world’s best-selling author. Her itinerary took her across South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada as part of a trade mission with her husband to promote the British Empire Exhibition.
A keen photographer, Suchet is armed with his own camera as he documents his key moments of the voyage and shares his pictures with the viewer.
“In New Zealand, we did the wonderful sea journey from North Island to South Island and I was reminded from her diaries of how much she got seasick,” Suchet said. “And of course she puts her own experience into the character of Poirot — she even gives him a method to cure his seasickness. Totally fictitious, and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t work.”
As well as exploring the history and development of the British Empire, and the huge changes that have taken place in the intervening century, Suchet also uncovered a side to Christie of which he was previously unaware.
“I only knew her as one type of person, and I discovered this adventurous young woman — a bit flirty, she sang on board ship with a piano in front of crowds,” he said.
“I’ve had an experience of a lifetime. I believe it’s slightly changed me,” Suchet told MIPCOM CANNES Daily News. “I’ve had experiences that Agatha had, visiting five amazing countries, and learned about my author, who gave me 25 years of Poirot.”
“It’s wonderful. It’s changed me — at my age. I’ve had an experience of travel that I never thought, approaching 80, that I would ever have in my life.”
Satellifacts Quotidien n° 6687 - Lundi 16 septembre 2024
Audiovisuel: le secteur déclare l’«union sacrée» et s’organise en filière face à l’urgence
À la Une
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BBC STUDIOS has brought the stars of Outrageous to MIPCOM CANNES. The brand-new drama tells the true story of the often scandalous lives of the Mitfords, six aristocratic sisters who refused to play by the rules, regularly making headlines around the world.
From Firebird Pictures, co-commissioned by UKTV and BritBox International, Outrageous is set against the gathering storm clouds of the 1930s, a contrast to the decadence, frivolity and lavishness of British high society — bringing the full, uncensored story of the Mitford sisters to the screen for the first time.
“It’s an amazing tale of this crazy family,” screenwriter Sarah Williams told the MIPCOM CANNES Daily News. “The sisters were rebellious, headstrong, wild, and some were politically extreme. There were a lot of close bonds, but also sibling rivalry, jealousy and betrayal,” she said.
Bessie Carter, who plays Nancy Mitford, the eldest of the sisters, added: “They don’t want to do what they’re told. They’ve grown up in this house where they aren’t allowed to be educated, pent up in the countryside, but they build these unique independent voices. To see those six women go so
wildly in their varying directions, that’s the exciting part of the series.”
Joanna Vanderham, who plays another of the sisters, Diana, said the actors playing the six sisters really bonded: “I know it sounds so cliché but it does feel like a family now. We are all going on a night out in December,” Vanderham said.
James Purefoy plays the sisters’ father David Freeman-Mitford. “He seems to spend most of the show in a constant state of utter perplexity,” he said. “He is very much a man of his time and a little bit like an insect trapped in amber. I think he is just astonished and doesn’t really understand how he has got into a situation where these women have massive opinions.”
Joshua Sasse, who stars as Oswald Mosley, the British politician who led the British Union of Fascists, said when you consider what is happening in the world [today] the show feels very relevant. “More than ever, it is a time to remind ourselves where fascism can lead,” he said. Liz Kilgarriff, producer and CEO of Firebird Pictures added: “They were outrageous. There was no other title for it really. It felt like it summed everything up.”
LEBANESE media giant Cedars Art Production is celebrating the 70 years of growth and success that have secured its place as one of the major producers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Cedars Art Production, led by brothers Sadek and Ali Sabbah, is at MIPCOM CANNES to mark the milestone and to showcase a raft of new content to the market. The company was founded in 1954 by Ali-Hussein Sabbah, the grandfather of the Sabbah brothers, who are now the third generation of the family at the helm. The brothers have grown the company steadily both in their domestic market and internationally.
Speaking to MIPCOM CANNES News, chief executive Sadek Sabbah said that the 70th anniversary
of the founding is an opportunity to “celebrate our reputation”, to look ahead to new formats, and also to acknowledge how much has changed in the industry.
“There have been many changes in this time in the industry,” he said. “The biggest change is the technology. We have gone from 35mm to video cassette to DVD to streaming in this time.
“As a company we have grown, we want to celebrate our reputation. Our generation has grown and opened new offices. We are now present in Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Cedars is showcasing a number of major new titles, current and future, including nine-part Egypt-based drama The Last Round, which launched on Ama -
zon Prime this year and is available for sales as a format.
The Last Round tells the story of a man who is diagnosed with and suffers the trauma of Alzheimer’s
disease as he prepares to become a professional fighter, while trying to reconcile with his estranged daughter.
It is directed by Mariam Ahmady, written by Ahmad Nada, and stars Ahmed El Sakka, Ashraf Abdel Baqi and Asma Abulyazeid in leading roles.
TV can provide ‘a voice for change’
‘We can use TV to open our ears to dialogue between people’
to tell our own stories and our own narratives. This is one of the main reasons we have TV productions.
“We can use TV to open our ears to the dialogue between people. But before we can open our ears we have to open our hearts. Television can bring people together.
“We have this responsibility as producers. We can make things better or we can make things worse.”
Qatar Media Corporation has a major presence at MIPCOM CANNES, which it is attending for the first time as a company. It is showcasing a range of content including two new productions, Arabian Sword and Heroes Of The Desert.
and culture. We have a diversity of TV shows telling the story of our heritage.
“We have a rich history and a beautiful country. We want to tell our story and share our voice with the world.”
One of the titles on the slate is the first Arabic production combining dramatic portrayals with real documentary footage to celebrate the “richness of Araba and Islamic civilisations” by exploring the history of the Arab sword.
It draws together narrative, drama, history and scientific discovery to produce a show combining “modern filming techniques and an advanced artistic vision”.
He said: “TV productions help us
“We have come ready with great content and are ready to share this with everybody. Much of our content celebrates Qatar’s history
Qatar Media Corporation operates a number of broadcasting platforms and divisions, including Qatar TV and Qatar Radio.
THE CZECH audiovisual sector is going through a period of growth and increasing international appeal thanks to a new generation of talent and smart investment by government and industry, the head of a major Praguebased production company has said.
Vratislav Šlajer, head producer at International Emmy-winning company Bionaut, praised years of efforts to develop and nurture his country’s TV, film, animation and
streaming-content output, which he said was increasingly outwardlooking in nature.
Šlajer, who is representing the Audiovisual Producers Association (APA) of the Czech Republic, said: “We have a long tradition of making high-quality TV and film, but we want to have more of a presence internationally. We’re not fulfilling our potential.”
The APA, which represents more than 150 producers, is at MIPCOM
Big players should ‘pay attention to the indies’
AFTER 18 years and more than 800 30-minute episodes of travel series No Luggage, Billyana Trayanova of Bulgarian production company No Witness is in Cannes to celebrate the show’s longevity. “It mixes travel, documentary and reality-style production,” Trayanova said, explaining that its USP was that it journeyed to diverse environments to explore culture, wildlife and human activity with no preparation and no arrangements — ready to take on impromptu whatever the situation might throw up, whether that be an invitation from a tribal chief, tracking gorillas or discove-
ring precious stones. This openness, she said, allows for an authentic connection, gaining people’s trust and their permission to tell unseen stories.
No Luggage’s positively charged stories, sharing virtues, respect and tolerance, have been screened in 42 territories by Global, RTVE and others, gaining a devoted following. She called on the big players in media to “pay attention to the indies”, adding that “creativity comes from everywhere” — including small territories such as Bulgaria — and that there was a lot to be gained from listening to diverse voices.
CANNES to share its ‘Check The Czechs’ message with the market. Anyone with an interest in the Czech market is invited to drop by their space at the MIPCOM CANNES Lounge, which is sponsored by the association.
Šlajer’s Bionaut is one of eight Czech companies in Cannes to promote not only their own business but their country’s potential for a wide range of TV projects. “The Czech Republic has great talent and great production value,” Šlajer said. “We have a good infrastructure and we are open to investment and co-production. Our government has recognised that audiovisual is a key industry and is rebooting tax incentives from January 2025, upping it to 25%-30%, as well as adding more funding for TV and film production. Audiovisual is now one of the fastest growing sectors in the Czech Republic.”
Among the other companies in town under the APA’s banner are Negativ Film Productions, Milk & Honey Pictures, Sirena Film, Film Kolektiv, Dramedy Productions, PINK Productions and Barrandov Studio.
JONATHAN Ford and Bruno Dubé were on the Sphere Abacus stand in the Riviera Hall yesterday to celebrate the newly named distribution division, created when Canada’s Sphere Media bought the UK-based distributor Abacus Media Rights in September. With offices in Montréal, Québec and Toronto, Sphere Media
‘We have become an effective force’
Bruno Dubé
Bruno Dubé, who is Sphere Media’s CEO, said: “Together with Sphere Abacus, we have become an exceptionally effective force in the worldwide content market.” Jonathan Ford is now Sphere Abacus’s managing director.
ARAB Telemedia Group is in Cannes to celebrate more than 30 years of producing content in genres ranging from historical documentaries to drama. It is also offering a slate of new content to the international market, summed up by its slogan ‘Original Stories From Arabia’.
The Jordan-based group, led by chief executive Talal Al Awamleh, is one of the major producers of Arabic TV content in the MENA region. It is currently in post-production on a major new series, Talal Street, which charts the history of life in Jordan during the reign of King Hussain, who was on the throne between 1953 and 1999.
The series is set to air on Jordanian TV in 2025. Described as an “epic tale that documents the history of Amman”, Talal Street examines the social and cultural changes of the period through the lives of people living
on the eponymous street in Amman.
Arab Telemedia was founded in 1983 by renowned producer and director Adnan Al Awamleh and was the first Jordanian company to win an International Emmy Award. The group’s production division scooped the 2008 best telenovela prize in 2008 for its drama Al-Igtiyah (The Invasion).
Arab Telemedia’s divisions include Arab Telemedia Networks, which operates various direct-to-consumer, linear, FAST, AVOD and subscription-on-demand channels and platforms. These various channels and platforms broadcast a range of shows from blockbuster fiction and drama to historical Arabic TV series and movies.
Arab Telemedia also offers opportunities to companies seeking to invest in the Jordanian industry via a number of potential Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).
FOLLOWING its successful debut on BBC One in the UK, Fremantle has closed a slew of sales for thriller Nightsleeper. Added to a previously announced sale to TF1 France, the show is set to appear in 147 countries. Nightsleeper is a real-time thriller about the hacking of a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, and a government agency’s frantic efforts to intervene in the escalating events onboard. Having secured 8.5 million viewers in the UK in its first 28 days, new buyers include M-Net (Africa), Movistar Plus+ (Spain) and WOWOW (Japan).
Jens Richter, Fremantle’s CEO of commercial and international, said:
“The series delivers pulse-pounding action and unpredictable twists, while featuring the exceptional talents of Joe Cole, Alexandra Roach and an outstanding ensemble cast. It has become a firm favourite among critics and audiences, not only in the UK, but overseas too.’’
In a separate development, Fremantle has acquired the global distribution rights to My Life As Roger Moore, a
feature documentary that offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the charismatic actor who redefined the role of James Bond 007.
Produced by whynow studios (Coco Chanel: Unbuttoned), the documentary takes viewers back to the golden age of cinema, tracing Moore’s unlikely rise from a young knitwear model to an era-defining icon. It shows how Moore refined his persona as a debonair, seasoned man-about-town, and finally won his breakthrough role as Bond.
Céire Clark, Fremantle’s senior acquisitions manager of international, said: “Partnering with whynow studios, the
BBC and the Moore family is an incredible opportunity for us. This honours Roger’s legacy and sheds light on how he left an indelible mark on cinema.”
BBC STUDIOS hosted The Power Of Game And Quiz showcase yesterday to present its roster of formats.
Titles included In With A Shout, the first local version of which airs tomorrow on W9 in France. The fast-paced quiz show sees families literally shout at TV screens to answer questions hidden in a montage of moving pictures. A correct answer moves them up the money ladder, but wrong answers might see them lose everything.
In With A Shout, which was created by the UK’s Expectation TV, has been airing on ITV. The French adaptation is called Video Quiz and is hosted by presenter and actor Issa Doumbia, best known for his role in Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. It is being produced locally by BBC Studios France.
Other formats on offer include The Answer Run, from BBC Studios Entertainment Productions, in which players pair questions and answers as they travel down the ‘run’ to win cash prizes. In Koso Koso from BBC Studios Entertainment Productions, Nippon TV and Empire of Arkadia, contestants think they are in a product review show, unaware of the secret squad of celebrity sneakers observing their every move.
“We are really proud of the current slate of varied and exciting titles we have to offer the market,” said Matt Forde, BBC Studios’ managing director, global entertainment. “Working with our amazing local teams and brilliant creators ensures local audiences get tailor-made versions of titles.”
AS GAME shows go, this new format from Japan’s regional commercial broadcaster Kansai TV is certainly unique. Dasuna: Don’t Show Your Pants, features contestants trying to keep their gold-coloured underpants hidden behind moving objects and other obstacles.
The show even has its own “pants monitoring AI”, to alert viewers if even a little of their underwear is showing, according to Atsushi Ikeda, global business manager, Kansai TV. The executive unveiled a sizzle reel of the one-hour pilot as part of the Treasure Box Japan format showcase held on Monday at MIPCOM CANNES where nine formats were highlighted. The WIT CEO Virginia Mouseler also picked it up for her Fresh TV showcase, Ikeda said.
The show aired on Kansai TV last month and the company is at the market looking for potential co-distribution or co-production partners for the new concept, according to Ikeda. He explained that the show could feature celebrities or be developed with regular contestants of all age groups. After the show aired in Japan, he said: “I didn’t expect [to get] that much reaction.” Commenting on his first MIPCOM CANNES market Ikeda said: “I’m overwhelmed. So many people.”
SYMPATICO is showcasing Emergency at MIPCOM
CANNES, a limited series with a cast led by Luke Evans (The Pembrokeshire Murders, The Hobbit and Fast And Furious franchises), who will also serve as executive producer. The co-production label was established in 2023 by Richard Johns’ Argo Films and Malaysian prodco Double Vision, headed by Min Lim, who is in Cannes to continue conversations with potential co-production partners Currently in advanced development, the six-hour espionage thriller is set during the Malayan Emergency of 1951 and based on true events. Luke Evans plays Brigadier ‘Mad’ Mike Calvert, a closeted homosexual and controversial British commander.
“Mike Calvert’s actions in Malaya laid the foundations for the politico-military strategy of winning the hearts and minds of the people during war — a counter-insurgency doctrine used the world over ever since,” Evans said. “He is one of the least-known yet most important and influential military leaders of the past century and it will be an honour to work with Richard and Min to help bring his incredible story to international audiences.” Emergency will be filmed in Malaysia and has the support of FINAS Malaysia, the national film development corporation.
EUROPEAN distributor Global Screen has launched a raft of recently acquired new dramas to buyers at MIPCOM including Recipes For Love And Murder and Murder On The Inca Trail.
Recipes For Love And Murder (8 x 50 mins) is a quirky murder-mystery crime drama filmed in South Africa and Scotland. Produced by Both Worlds Pictures in co-production with Acorn and M-Net, and in association with Paradoxal, the show is based on a novel by South African author Sally Andrew. In season two, when a massive fire engulfs the small town of Eden, a fateful chain of events is triggered and characters including chief detective Khaya Meyer get dragged into a multiple-murder investigation that unearths the town’s darkest secrets. In crime thriller Murder On The Inca Trail, produced by Westside for ARD Degeto/BR, the story centres on a murder on Peru’s remote Inca Trail, where there are no witnesses, no weapon and no evidence. Chief Inspector Rita Berg
has to solve the case despite the fact there is no obvious motive.
Also on the MIPCOM CANNES slate is season two of period anthology drama The Palace, produced by Moovie, Constantin Film and ZDF. Once again set at iconic Berlin music hall The Palace, the new season is based in 1990, the year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At an unprecedented time of crisis and transformation, ballet director Regina Feldmann and a trio of up-and-coming young dancers face personal and professional turmoil.
Ulrike Schröder, co-head international sales & acquisitions at Global
Screen, said: “Viewers are always seeking out strong production values and great storylines and we are sure that these three series full of glossy drama and popular varieties of crime narratives will have particular appeal to our clients around the world right now.”
Global Screen is a well-established name in the distribution business. Earlier this year, its parent company Telepool was acquired by pan-European distribution and production studio Vuelta, which has a presence in France, Germany, Scandinanvia, Benelux and Italy.
VICTURA Media, a new entertainment franchise company based in the UK and Canada, has been launched at MIPCOM CANNES with a slate that includes an adaptation of Dawn O’Porter’s young-adult novel Paper Aeroplanes.
Founded by entertainment executive Thom Chapman, with company director and executive producer Gráinne McNamara, Victura Media takes a platform-agnostic approach to discovering, building and managing global IP aimed at kids over eight, youth and adults. The company’s executives have over 20 years of experience in the franchise business working on brands including Peanuts, Bakugan, Hatchimals and Paw Patrol. Paper Aeroplanes gives a snapshot of small-town adolescence. Writer,
director and presenter Dawn O’Porter said: “I think these characters will speak to women for generations to come. The trials and tribulations of their lives are timeless and the
story celebrates the heartstopping power of female friendship.”
Victura Media is also handling global distribution for Skybound Entertainment’s PSI Cops and Super Dinosaur, as well as Skybound Presents: Spike & Mike’s Festival Of Animation, which is relaunching in 2025. The company is also a consultant to Enterprise Ireland helping lrish studios with IP management. Chapman said: “There is an evolution happening in entertainment with how audiences are curating their entertainment experience as well as the growth of creator-led content and importance of fandom and community. We founded Victura Media to help to connect the dots across IP management and growing global franchises from all areas of the business.”
