10 MIPTV takeaways: #9 making news, not in the news

There was plenty of news last week in Cannes, which was a change from the years when the market became the news. MIP veterans still recall their tales of getting home in 2010 when the ash cloud grounded planes. They are also accustomed to negotiating plane and train industrial action that can make getting in and out of Cannes tricky.

In the absence of natural disaster or the French transport unions mobilising, the news was actually the deals done at the market.

TBI was on the ground, reporting on every development as it happened. Here are the five most popular stories from TBIVision.com through the week of MIPTV.

TBIvision.com – top five

1. MIPTV declares 2016 numbers

Everyone wanted to know the official 2016 attendance figures. With, anecdotally, many buyers and sellers saying that while their meetings were worthwhile, it was quieter on the ground, with many noting empty space on the beach front. MIP organiser Reed MIDEM said numbers were flat, for the fourth consecutive year. It also reported slightly-up numbers for MIPDoc and MIPFormats.

2. Disney heir apparent to leave

Not strictly a market story, but one that had people reading nonetheless, perhaps unsurprisingly as it concerned the leadership of the world’s biggest media company, Disney. Thomas Staggs was considered the most likely successor to Bob Iger at the Mouse House after being named COO in February last year, but that now won’t happen after last Tuesday’s news he was exiting the business.

3. Studiocanal buys into Cumberbatch indie

France’s Vivendi was in the news from the start to the end of the market, and last Tuesday’s news that its content unit, Studiocanal, was buying into, or upping its stake in, three indie prodcos, set the agenda for the day. Studiocanal has established itself as a force in TV and the deals for pieces of Spain’s Bambù Producciones and UK indies Urban Myth Films and Sunnymarch TV, which actor Cumberbatch launched recently, reinforced that.

4. Vice launches channel and hires Discovery veteran

Vice Media brought some hipster swagger to Cannes, and ensured it was in the news with the announcement, last Wednesday, that it was teaming up with Canal+ and launching its linear Viceland channel in France later this year. The youth brand had already made the industry news earlier in the week by hiring Discovery veteran Arjan Hoekstra to run its growing channels business in Europe.

5. People moves: Charlotte Thorpe and Hayley Babcock

The TV industry loves to keep abreast of who’s going where and who’s in and who’s out (aka gossip). The people news down in Cannes was shaped by A+E Networks bring on Sony, Fox and Shine exec Hayley Babcock to grow its formats business. The other people story getting attention was Charlotte Thorp leaving eOne for Lionsgate, to head the US indie studio’s sales operation.

MIPTV takeaways: #1 no Rising Star, but Roots established

MIPTV takeaways: #2 VR now a reality?

MIPTV takeaways: #3 Vivendi puts Europe in the spotlight

MIPTV takeaways: #4 eclectic talent on the Croisette

MIPTV takeaways: #5 where’s the party? 

MIPTV takeaways: #6 the many faces of Vice

MIPTV takeaways: #7 the industry asks ‘how will the market evolve?’

MIPTV takeaways: #8 a quiet drama

MIPTV takeaways: #9 making news, not in the news

MIPTV takeaways: #10 the market in numbers