Canadian Media Leaders Take Centre Stage At MIPCOM 2012

PARIS, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pierre Karl Peladeau, President & CEO, Quebecor Inc., Quebecor Media Inc. and Sun Media Corporation and Wade Oosterman, President, Bell Mobility and Residential Services, and Chief Brand Officer, Bell Canada will deliver keynote addresses as part of the Canada Country of Honour tribute presented by MIPCOM, in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada. Organised by Reed MIDEM, MIPCOM will take place in Cannes, 8-11 October 2012.

Monday, October 8, Pierre Karl Peladeau will unveil his views on how to ensure the success of TV programming in the global digital market context. A year after spearheading the acquisition of Sun Media Corporation in 1998, he was named President and CEO of Quebecor. Tuesday October 9, Wade Oosterman will expand on Bell's "Pick a screen and fill it with goodness" market position and the company's commitment to deliver the best content across all screens – TV, laptop, smartphone and tablet. Wade Oosterman leads all of Bell's wireless and residential service operations, encompassing the Bell Mobility, Bell TV, Bell internet, Bell Home Phone and Virgin Mobile Canada brands. Founded in 1880 and headquartered in Montreal, Bell Canada is Canada's largest communications company.

The Focus on Canada will run throughout MIPJunior (Oct. 6-7) and MIPCOM (Oct. 8-11) and will highlight Canadian excellence in international co-productions, as well as the strength and creativity of Canadian world-class scripted dramas, animation, documentaries, films, experimental and digital media. A number of new initiatives have been planned to provide Canadian professionals the opportunity to expand their business on an international level via specific events such as an international co-production matchmaking event giving the opportunity to Canadian producers to pitch their projects internationally.

"We're delighted to welcome leading industry figures at MIPCOM and to highlight the creativity of Canadian content," says Laurine Garaude, Director of the Television Division at Reed MIDEM. "This is an ideal opportunity for Canadians and their international counterparts to develop new business ties, and partnerships."

Canadian content will be showcased with the eagerly-awaited "Fresh TV from Canada" presentation of the hottest and most innovative content from Canada, hosted by The WIT's CEO, Virginia Mouseler. Focused case studies will provide an in-depth look at some of the world's most groundbreaking co-productions and a special case study designed to unveil how to launch new partnerships with Canada.

Canadian speakers include: Guillaume Aniorte, Co-CEO, Tribal Nova; Jay Bennett, VP Digital/Creative Director, Shaftesbury/Smokebomb Entertainment; Carole Bonneau, Vice-president, Programming, TELETOON Canada Inc; Carolle Brabant, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada; Catalina Briceno, Director of Industry and Market Trends, CMF; Rob Carley, Creative Director, Cineflix Productions; Vince Commisso, President and CEO, 9 Story Entertainment; Valerie Creighton, CEO, CMF; Malcolm Dunlop, EVP Television Programming and Operations, Rogers Broadcasting; Deborah Drisdell, Director General, Accessibility and Digital Enterprises, National Film Board of Canada; Alan Handel, President, Handel Productions; Wiebke Hoefer, Senior Director of Sales, Cookie Jar Entertainment; Nicola Merola, Producer and Head of International TV, Pixcom Productions; John Weber, President, Take 5 Productions; Irene Weibel, Vice President & Head of Nelvana Studio, Nelvana.

About Quebecor - Quebecor is one of Canada's largest media groups, with more than 16,000 employees. It is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services, cable telephony and mobile telephony. It is the largest publisher of newspapers in Canada. It operates Canoe.ca and its network of English-and French-language Internet properties. In the broadcasting sector, Quebecor operates the number one French-language general-interest television network in Quebec, 10 specialty, pay per view and VOD services. It operates a major interactive technologies and communications agency and is also active in magazine publishing, book publishing and distribution, production, distribution and retailing of cultural products and music streaming, video game development, DVD, Blu-ray disc and videogame rental and retailing, printing and distribution of regional newspapers and flyers, news content production and distribution, multiplatform advertising solutions and publishing of printed and online directories.

About Bell Canada - Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio and digital media. Bell is wholly owned by Montreal's BCE Inc. For Bell product and service information, please visit Bell.ca. For Bell Media, please visit BellMedia.ca. For BCE corporate information, please visit BCE.ca. The Bell Mental Health Initiative is a multi-year charitable program that promotes mental health across Canada via the Bell Let's Talk anti-stigma campaign and support for community care, research and workplace best practices. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About MIPCOM – MIPCOM is the year's most anticipated global market for entertainment content across all platforms. Each Autumn, the industry's international heavy hitters – from TV and film – converge in Cannes to create a new world of entertainment. MIPCOM turns every moment into an opportunity, transforming four days of meetings, screenings and conferences into deals – from blockbuster programming to ground-breaking partnerships. And the children's entertainment industry gets an early start at MIPJunior, where key international buyers, sellers and producers gather to present, discover and screen content at the world's showcase for kids programming.

Please visit www.mipcom.com

SOURCE Reed MIDEM