Dotcoms Get the Spotlight, Old Economy Gets the Dough.

Three events in one: MIPCOM Jr., MIPCOM and the premiering MIPNET. Reed-Midem, the organizers of the Cannes, France fall international audiovisual market, are kept busy creating more events to stimulate interest in the MIPCOM market that plateaued a few years back.

In all respects, the Paris-based organization has succeeded. This year, the now-called "content" market added an extra tent, Village Azur, in order to accommodate 20 or so dotcoms. Not that everyone was euphoric to be in Azur: "We were kept away from our core clients who are the programmers," complained both an American and an Italian Internet company representative. Said another: "People did not make it to our tent until the last two days ..."

In the Palais, only a few corner spaces on the main level were seen unfilled. Otherwise, the three sections -- the Riviera, the four-level Palais and Village Azur -- were fully occupied by newer and, in some cases, larger booths (e.g., Gullane, ChumCity, The itsybitsy Entertainment Company and others).

MIPCOM Jr. kicked off the bazaar on September 30 with a two-day event in which 771 programs were screened by some 200 buyers, with the largest number of "consultations" (i.e., requests to screen the program) tallied by Germany's RTV Family Entertainment for Gloria's House.

As usual, programming was king at MIPCOM, but from the Americans there were few developments that were not already announced at the L.A. Screenings this past May and June. Naturally, the exceptions were a deluge of reality programs and format frenzy from all corners of the globe.

Buyers and sellers alike were busy keeping up with the latest developments in an industry where, recently, the only sure thing has been its quick rate of change. However, looking at the cover stories of Video Age Daily at MIPCOM, one notices that history, after all, repeats itself, as seen in the following developments:

* NBC is now in both the domestic and international program syndication business.

* Paramount is introducing barter arrangements at the international level for three-to-four-hour primetime blocks.

* ChumCity is entering TV broadcasting in Spain.

Afterwards, look at the history that, in part, has been highlighted in the same daily's past issues. In a section called "Archives," Video Age Daily pointed out in 1989 that international barter was a topic via a front-cover interview with Michael Lopez, then vp of Columbia Pictures Entertainment and today president of California-based Aviva.

As far as North American companies entering the international TV-station business, this was something big in the 1960s. Similarly, before the (since eliminated) Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, U.S. TV networks did not have restrictions either domestically or internationally.

New at MIPCOM this year was the aforementioned MIPNET, a marker-cum-conference for Internet TV companies. At MIPNET, 16 panelists covered all topics: from technology to content, from regulations to security to financial models. Nearly 2,000 international television executives gathered at the three-day sessions.

"With 22 percent of the companies involved in New Media activities, MIPCOM 2000 has clearly demonstrated its ability to address the way broadband and convergence are impacting the media industry," said Xavier Roy, Reed-Midem's president. "If content is still king, the context in which it is produced, branded and delivered is now playing an essential role," he concluded.

Besides the obvious ("The future of entertainment includes unique opportunities as well as complex legal and production challenges ..."), the participants at the seminars pointed out that "the stock market can be cruel" to those dotcoms that are planning to go public.

Among the events creating a buzz at this MIPCOM were Canadian broadcaster Corus' C$540 million acquisition of Nelvana, Gullane's consolidation with Catalyst and The Britt Allcroft Company, Germany's TV-Loonland's acquisition of Paris-based Salsa Distribution, DIC's buyback from Disney, Canada's Salter Street Films' new broadcasting challenge, EM.TV's overflowing boat party (the captain halted the flow of guests over the safety limit) and Giampaolo Sodano's Eagle Pictures, which was preparing to be quoted on the New Market stock exchange in Milan, Italy.

Plus, France's M6 DA introduced two cartoons, Celestin and Iron Nose, and Unapix scored a coup by inviting Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, to Cannes. Unapix is now producing the Disney bio Walt: The Man Behind the Myth. Other personalities at MIPCOM were French actor Alain Delon and American movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Lots of attention was given to dotTV, the California-based company that is selling domain names ending with "tv" instead of "com." Similarly, CanWest's purchase of Endemol's program library took Greg Phillips (head of CanWest distributor Fireworks) off the floor and into the meeting room for the duration of the marker, with the exception of a party to celebrate Fireworks' Queen of Swords miniseries starring Tessie Santiago. It was noticed that CBS Broadcast International's Armando Nunez Jr.'s visit to MIPCOM was shortened due to a combination of personal matters and an unexpected meeting summoned by CBS top boss Mel Karmazin.

At this market, the Disney company showed a human face by organizing a luncheon for the press -- an unprecedented move by new management looking to distance itself from the former regime's credo of "We don't need anything or anyone, we're Disney."

The Russians are coming? Hoping to establish an increased presence for Russian-produced programming in the international TV market, Elena Ushaneva of Moscow-based Planet Sunbeam Ltd. was representing four production and distribution companies that were offering a slate of Russian-produced documentaries and informational videos covering Russian art, history and politics. Although the number of participating Russian companies was small, Ushaneva felt that the climate in her country is right for increased activity in future markets.

For the record, the total number of stands (494) at this 16th annual MIPCOM increased 7.15 percent since last year's edition, while the number of companies registered at the show (2,924) grew by 11.90 percent. Visitors (11,762) went up 11.45 percent. The number of buyers hit an all-time record of 2,895 executives (up 11.75 percent), including an increase in Asian buyer attendance.