Reed Midem cancels MIPTV as Coronavirus spreads in France

MIPTV has been cancelled following the Coronavirus outbreak in France.

Reed Midem, the company which operates MIPTV, said the event, scheduled to take place 30 March to 2 April in Cannes, had been cancelled “due to concerns related to the Coronavirus (Covid-19).”

MIPDoc and MIPFormats, set to take place between the 28 and 29 March, have also been cancelled.

The third installment of Canneseries, originally scheduled to run parallel to MIPTV, will now take place 9-14 October, alongside MIPCOM.

The next edition of MIPTV will take place 12 – 15 April, 2021, with MIPDoc and MIPFormats scheduled for 10 – 11 April. The fourth season of Canneseries will be held in April 2021 during MIPTV.

Paul Zilk, Reed Midem chief executive, said: “In the current context, many of our clients have expressed concerns about travelling at this time. Rescheduling MIPTV in the coming months is not feasible, so the most appropriate course of action is to cancel MIPTV for 2020.

“The well-being of our clients, partners and staff is our priority. We are grateful to clients for their support and constructive input during this challenging period. We look forward to welcoming everyone to MIPCOM in October 12-15 and we are delighted that Canneseries will be at our side again this year.”

The revamped event in Cannes attracted almost 10,000 delegates from around the world last year and the 2020 edition was due to feature a raft of new programming strands to entice attendees.

But the event had been in the balance after the French government’s health minister Olivier Veran said during the weekend that confined gatherings in excess of 5,000 people would be “temporarily banned.”

MIPTV’s new-look meant the market would only have taken place in Palais -1 and Riviera 7 and 8, causing further headaches for organisers.

Reed Midem had already postponed the sprawling property market Mipim, which had been due to take place in Cannes this week. It will now take place in June.

More than 100 people in France have now contracted the Coronavirus, while one person from Cannes has tested positive with the illness. The outbreak began last year in China – delegates from the country have already cancelled their trips to MIPTV amid ongoing travel restrictions.