Opinion: MIPTV 2023, Cannes we talk about it?

MIPTV2023 Opening Party

Fresh off the plane from Cannes, TBI’s resident format expert Siobhan Crawford offers her unvarnished take on the pluses and minuses of MIPTV 2023.

Is your heart full? Is your tank empty? Is your mind racing?

Guess you went to MIPTV 2023!

Some of us are enjoying our final glass of rosé and our final stroll along the croisette, some of us are hustling to keep momentum post-market. But I think the one thing the attendees, all 5,600 of us (including those here virtually), will agree on is that MIPTV should stick around.

Have you ever heard the expression ‘less is more’? Or perhaps ‘quality over quantity’? Every MIPTV since covid has been quieter but there is quality – we spend 45 minutes with our favourites, we avoid the ‘business dinners’ in favour of margarita Mondays, we offer the companies we are normally too busy for a five-minute hello and we can get a reservation anywhere in town.

Siobhan Crawford

Plus, 21 degrees bright sunshine? Come on people, there is nothing to dislike here. And it is cheaper than London!

We can go into the review of course, but the headline here is MIPTV is alive and well. London Screenings has not killed it. A few more Danish broadcasters and a few more Nordic prodcos (Aussies and Kiwis would be a cherry on top!) and we are rockin’.

The no BS review

• Celebrate Belgium – Belgian content reigned king at MIPTV (insert my and Gepke’s smug faces here). Biased perhaps, but Stranded, Destination X and The Golden Egg were the talk of the market. That means MIPTV was format heavy. Hooray, finally! Canneseries had very little impact on many of us except when trying to navigate around the pink carpet. There were fewer deals announced post London Screenings, but as predicted news flooded the industry at MIPTV.

• New buyers lounge – the mirage that is the spacious lounge in Riviera 8 was a huge hit. I hope RX commits to this for each market because it will reduce the number of non-badge attendees long term as it is an attractive space – people finally have a place to meet efficiently without the need to pay thousands for stands.

• Trends – Main headline, ratings are BS. Traitors is more than a format – it’s a movement. FOMO still drives the market. PR announcements about deals are purposefully misleading. And the US eco system has never been more precarious. That is what I took from this MIPTV and the sales announced. The same line was repeated constantly ‘low risk, established brand, big studio format’. Yeah, yeah, I am so sick of the demand for the next Masked Singer. The three top sellers this market were conceptually excellent and had nothing to do with talent or variety shows.

• Short life – Something blatantly obvious is how we are launching tonnes of titles with very little care about longevity or even quality (!). The investment in content is not just to fulfil a broadcaster mandate – it is a business model to broadcasters. And oh my god, there is so much crap launched. Stop needing six+ titles a market, and create brands!

The WIT at MIPTV 2023

• Traitors – the impact of this title may have exceeded that of The Masked Singer. It is now a way to describe content genres, tonality, inspiring the next wave of content. It was the buzzword of MIP, you could not escape a hooded image.

• The Fresh – Honestly, this is Virginia at her best. Remember this is a snap shot in television right now to entertain us. And I challenge anyone to tell me they did not smile or laugh during The Fresh. Go decide if you want a DILF or a HIMBO in your life and I will be busy reaching breaking point with my watermelon!

• MIPTV – OK, the Croisette was quiet but Riviera 8 and the bunker were buzzing. The schedule of events was a mess with sessions moving and events not knowing if they are 30 minutes or 60 minutes, with delayed starts – hey it is not like time is money! I am also not convinced that the sessions are nailing relevance to the audience. Bringing speakers who actively do not engage with the Europeans is something we should change.

Sign me up

But will we return? Well, I canvassed, I asked companies and indies and consultants – and emphatically it was a ‘yes, with bells on’. The people I spoke with had full diaries and full hearts and they will be the people with better access to content in the long run as they show the commitment to turning up to these key industry events.

So let FOMO and the 21 degree sunshine bring you back to MIPTV. Long live the OG.

(T minus six months to better prepare myself for the next one #ruined)