MIPCOM Posts (S)Tweet Deals

PARIS, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Tweet this – "MIPCOM biz buzzing. Saw Mad Men stars - 2 cool. Greenlit toon series with Beijing prod, Gaul mob op and NY drinks firm. +12K in Cannes. This place rocks!"

Alternatively – MIPCOM 2010 welcomed a raft of international talent, including "Mad Men" stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, as 12,400 delegates from over 100 countries gathered in Cannes, a slew of international deals were announced and MIPCOM Personality of the Year, Jon Feltheimer, urged delegates to embrace new economic models.

Talent Abounds on Croisette

MIPCOM 2010 saw a wealth of top international talent in Cannes, as dynamic studios such as Lionsgate, Entertainment One, Endemol and FremantleMedia backed their shows with star sizzle and programme promotion to the international television community was the name of the game.

It was a busy week for "Mad Men" stars Elisabeth Moss and Jon Hamm, who toplined the inaugural MIPCOM Opening Night Cocktail Red Carpet, attended the first-ever MIPCOM World Premiere Television Screenings - where delegates saw internationally unaired episodes of "Mad Men" and Lionsgate's new comedy "Running Wilde" - and were present at the gala Personality of the Year dinner to celebrate the career of Lionsgate Co-Chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer.

Entertainment One's 90-minute western "Goodnight for Justice" got the backing of Luke Perry, while Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies were in Cannes to promote highly-anticipated series "The Walking Dead." Joining them on the Red Carpet were Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour, co-stars in Entertainment One's mystery drama "Haven."  

It may not have been hot in Cannes on the opening day of MIPCOM, but that didn't deter Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick, the three stars of "Hot in Cleveland," from promoting the hit US comedy which is being distributed by Endemol.

The value of bringing internationally-known names to meet with existing or potential broadcasting partners wasn't lost on FremantleMedia Enterprises. Some 150 international acquisitions executives came together October 5 at MIPCOM to hear Sir David Frost interview director Oliver Stone about his new 10-part series "The Untold History of the United States."

Kiss bassist, reality star and brand entrepreneur, Gene Simmons, hit all the right notes with A&E Network and BIO Channel President Bob DeBitetto October 5 as the pair discussed brand building in front of a packed Grand Auditorium. "It's your professional and fiduciary duty to spread your brand" enthused Simmons. A&E has aired 100 episodes of "Gene Simmons Family Jewels."

Media attention swung firmly towards the Sundance Channel October 6 with actor, producer, director and Sundance Channel founder, Robert Redford celebrating the channel's first anniversary in France and Belgium. Sundance Channel owners Rainbow Media chose MIPCOM to announce extended channel distribution with new partners in France, South Korea and entry in the Dutch market.

"We have seen an unprecedented number of entertainment stars at this year's MIPCOM," notes Laurine Garaude, Director of Reed MIDEM's Television Division. "I think this reflects renewed confidence in the industry, a willingness to go that extra mile to support a show and recognition that MIPCOM is an extremely effective way of communicating with international television partners and the media."

Deals Reflect Eclectic MIPCOM Mix

Tweet this – "Got to MIPCOM Sun AM. Met Tony C at FremantleMedia and inked deal by PM. Now got really great backer"

Alternatively – Transmedia company @radical.media's Chairman and CEO, Jon Kamen, arrived in Cannes last Sunday and immediately put pen to paper for FremantleMedia to acquire a 60% stake in his company. FremantleMedia CEO, Tony Cohen said the agreement "increases our expertise and capability as a multi-platform branded entertainment business."

The agreement was just one in a range of deals as eclectic and international as the population attending MIPCOM 2010.

Among a host of MIPCOM announcements, Japan's public broadcaster NHK signed a three-year coproduction pact with France Televisions to develop and produce factual programming. In a sign of the times, the pair are also co-developing websites including one for documentary series "Life Force."

Discovery Enterprises International reported sales of 200 hours of factual entertainment in France, Italy, Spain and Greece, while Comcast International Media Group teamed with France's AB Group to tee off the Golf Channel in France, the channel's opening shot in the European market.

The Walt Disney Company EMEA significantly increased the amount of its programming destined for the Middle East and North Africa thanks to a multi-year, multi-genre output agreement with pay TV platform Orbit Showtime Network.

By mid-MIPCOM, BBC Worldwide had sold over 800 hours of programming across Eastern and Central Europe, including perennial car favourite "Top Gear," crime drama "Sherlock," and natural history series "The Human Planet."

With over 1,200 Asian delegates attending MIPCOM and a strong presence of Asian animation companies, the enthusiasm for international co-productions was evident. Following on from their MIPTV 2010 announcement to set up a creative exchange network, FremantleMedia and Fuji Television Network unveiled the first title to result from the alliance, TV format "Total Blackout."

Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corporation announced a duo of co-production deals. Animasia Studios (Malaysia), Agogo International (Hong Kong) and Spain's Neptuno Films will join up to co-produce 2D animation series "Kung Fu Chicken." In addition, Ed-Online Technologies (Malaysia), Scrawl Studios (Singapore) and Bryant Little (UK) will co-develop pre-school series "Red, Yellow & Blue."

"Animation is proving particularly vibrant with the return to Cannes of iconic brand 'The Power Rangers' and the launch of 'Le Petit Prince,' MIPCOM is now the largest gathering of animation companies in the world," commented Reed MIDEM's Laurine Garaude. "More broadly, we've seen significant growth in international co-production across all programming genres and new methods of international co-financing."

More than TV Companies at MIPCOM

Tweet this – "Mega meet with energy drinks, street wear and cool Apps teams. Is this MIPCOM 3.0?"

Alternatively – MIPCOM 2010 brought together major international consumer names such as Red Bull and Skechers, with entertainment brands such as "Power Rangers" and the social media players such as Facebook, who are extending the 'viewer' experience globally. October 5 saw the first VIP Branded Entertainment Summit, uniting brand owners with ad agencies, broadcasters, producers, social media companies and digital platforms.

"Brands are thinking out of the box and seeing the huge potential of television, mobile, digital, Apps and Social Media to reach out to their customers. Skechers Entertainment's first appearance at MIPCOM as an exhibitor is a prime example of a strong consumer brand moving into entertainment," noted Laurine Garaude.

Lionsgate Co-Chairman and CEO, Jon Feltheimer, summed up the new entertainment reality in his keynote address to MIPCOM delegates. "Today, most shows must make a business out of an audience that is far less broad but has far more passion…an audience that will not only watch the show when it premieres, but TiVo it, download it to iTunes, buy it on DVD and watch it on their cell phones," Feltheimer told his audience.

"We need to create new relationships, relationships with people who install telephone lines and build mobile networks, relationships with people like billionaire Mark Zuckerburg, 26 years old, who connects millions of people through bits and bytes," added the MIPCOM 2010 Personality of the Year.

Building relationships and stimulating business between the vast international entertainment content community and the mobile and technology industries got a significant boost October 7. Reed MIDEM and the GSMA, the organization which represents the worldwide mobile industry and which also produces the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Congress events, announced their partnership to launch the Connected Creativity Forum at MIPTV 2010.

"Connected Creativity will bring content creators and distributors from all creative industries together with mobile operators as well as others in the broad entertainment ecosystem, including makers of smartphones and tablets, connected consoles and networked television," said Anne de Kerckhove, Director or Reed MIDEM's Entertainment Division.

Note to editors:

About Reed MIDEM:

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM HORIZONS and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed MIDEM is a division of Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including:

Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2009, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of 1,279 million Pounds Sterling  on turnover of 6,071 million pounds.

For further information about Reed MIDEM visit www.reedmidem.com.

SOURCE Reed Midem Trade Show: MIPCOM 2010