MIPFormats International Pitch 2013: Call For Entries Now Open

PARIS, Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reed MIDEM, organiser of MIPTV and MIPFormats, and Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP), today announce the renewal of their 2012 partnership. For the second year, the US major will be the exclusive sponsor of the MIPFormats 2013 International Pitch competition, for which the call for entries is now open. Preceding MIPTV's 50^th edition (8-11 April 2013), the 4^th annual MIPFormats event will take place in Cannes, 6-7 April.

Held in the Palais des Festival's Grand Auditorium on Sunday 7 April 2013, the MIPFormats International Pitch is a competition for companies with innovative concepts for new, non-scripted entertainment formats. Applicants can submit their project and complete the entry form now and until Monday 4 February 2013. All pitch entries will be reviewed by a panel of international format experts from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution Inc.; Warner Horizon Television; Warner Bros. Television; Shed Media; Blazhoffski Productions and Nathalie Wogue, former Chief International Officer, Endemol France.

Under the terms of the MIPFormats partnership, WBITVP will commit to spending up to €25,000 to develop the winning project via one of its stable of production companies, with an eye towards developing the winning entry as a television project.

"Last year's MIPFormats brought in a wide selection of unique and exciting format ideas so we are excited about renewing our partnership for 2013," said Andrew Zein, SVP, Creative, Format Development and Sales, WBITVP. "We hope to find some more stand-out formats in the competition and to work with producers on developing their ideas and hopefully bringing them to market."

Last April, Canada's Antica Productions was selected from a very strong field of creators and won the 2012 MIPFormats Pitch with its dating series project, Looking 4 Love. "MIPFormats was an incredible experience for us," said Stuart Coxe, President and Executive Producer, Antica Productions. "Thanks to the success of the pitch of L4L at MIPformats, Antica Productions was able to secure a major development deal with a broadcaster in our home territory and we look forward to announcing new production deals in the months to come. Warner Bros. has been instrumental in assisting in a development process that created set design, production budgets and a solid bible and terrific casting that will play in North America and around the world. I encourage companies to seriously consider throwing their hat into the ring."

"Last year's initial partnership between MIPFormats and Warner Bros. has proven to be a great success, given the number and quality of the submitted pitches and the winning project's tremendous development," underlined Laurine Garaude, Director of Reed MIDEM's Television Division. "We're delighted to join forces again in renewing this partnership for MIPFormats 2013 and encourage creative producers from around the world to connect with the industry and enter the big league in format production."

About MIPTV – Founded in 1963, MIPTV is the annual international market and creative forum for content on every screen. It brings professionals from the global TV and online content industry to Cannes, France, for four days of events, conferences, screenings and networking. MIPCube constitutes a special programme exploring tech and creative approaches with the community of disrupters re-inventing the content experience within MIPTV. The weekend prior to MIPTV, MIPDoc and MIPFormats offer professionals from the factual programming and format entertainment segments two dedicated accelerator days. In 2013, MIPTV celebrates its 50^th anniversary. www.miptv.com

SOURCE Reed MIDEM