MIP-TV '99: All the News That Can't Fit to Print.

Reporting on the developments at MIP-TV is becoming easy. It is sufficient to summarize Video Age Daily's stories and to add a few "after-the-deadline" facts. Reporting on the real news of MIP-TV, for publications such as Video Age, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, is becoming harder, as all have to balance advertisers' demands against stories that reporters cannot possibly ignore.

This publication, for instance, was summoned by both a studio and a network for having "dared" to report some information even though it was public knowledge.

In any case, this MIP-TV was characterized by eight major developments that attracted most of the 10,434 participants' attention: 1) The studios questioning MIP-TV's "value"; 2) the merger of King World with CBS; 3) the merger between Worldvision and Paramount; 4) Paramount's acquisition of Rysher; 5) Germany's Leo Kirch and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi teaming up to develop ETN, a Pan-European TV network; 6) NBC replacing a 35-year-old daytime drama with Passion, a new soap opera; 7) the Internet and 8) the L.A. Screenings.

Also of interest was the progress of the Palais' adjunct, currently under construction; the fact that MIP-TY has become defacto a four-day market out of the scheduled six; and the emphasis that MIP-TV is now giving to Latin American companies. This included a special dinner reception organized in association with Argentina's Telefilms for a group of some 200 Latin TV executives at Monte Carlo's Crazy Horse venue, Of curiosity was the statement released to the Cote d'Azur's newspaper, Nice Matin, by MIP-TV organizer Xavier Roy that he would not be running for mayor of Cannes. Also, the incident involving the Italian interactive TV promotional service, TVFiles, had to call its lawyers in order to acquire access to its Internet site, which wasn't "made available" at its stand for two days. According to company officials at TVFiles, this happened because TVFiles competes with MIP-TV's own promotional service, MIP-TV Interactive.

The possibility that the studios may pull out of MIP-TV however, is real. Especially after Buena Vista got up the nerve to start the process by being the first to pull out. For this reason, Roy has met with all the studio heads while in Cannes and will soon be visiting them in Los Angeles. For the studios attending MIP-TV with a stand that met their "minimum" standards, this represents an investment of up to $700,000 each. Because of the changing nature of the television business, which now sees the L.A. Screenings as launching the marketing season, studios have little or no product to offer at MIP-TV. Their reasons for being there are possibly to refine the L.A. Screenings schedule or catch up with clients on a social level. While the studios were demanding "value" for their money, MIP-TV officials were busy downplaying the role of the studios.

It was pointed out to Video Age that, even though Disney wasn't exhibiting, between sales and acquisitions people, there were some 30 Disney executives registered. The implication: MIP-TV officials believe that even if other studios pull out, a large number of executives will still attend, thus assuring that they will still be a magnet for large buyers. Similarly, Variety reported that the studios' rental space constituted "about 3 percent of MIP-TV revenues," which can easily be replaced by independents who tend to be induced to buy "more ads with MIPTV," in their daily.

Nonetheless, MIP-TV officials were quietly asking studio executives to wear hard hats and tour the Please' addition now under construction, presumably to reserve prime space. Even though the addendum will be finished in September, it will not be ready in time for MIPCOM '99 this October.

In other news, Fremantle reported sales of $11 million to 20 countries, including Germany, Mexico, Australia and the U.K. According to Fremantle's Paul Talbot, "this year's MIP brought a mini-surge from newer TV markets, particularly in Eastern Europe."

At MIP-TV, American journalist Alan Friedman (of the Herald Tribune) launched the Herald Tribune Television, a current affairs TV service in association with Italy's RAI. Friedman also hosts Italia Maastricht, a popular newsmagazine on RAI's third TV network.

Italy's Mediaset officially introduced MediaTrade during a lavish dinner at the Martinez for some 300 guests. The new division, headed by TV veteran Roberto Pace, will operate with an annual budget of $485 million for productions, co-productions and acquisitions -- including theatrical movie pre-buys.

On the Internet front, next year MIP-TV (which will be shortened by one day, becoming a five-day market), will add a multimedia pavilion. Meanwhile, NATPE announced that, in collaboration with Video Age, all L.A. Screenings information will be posted on its Web site. Similarly, Warner Bros. stated that it is making available on its Web site a 30-second video clip of each of its series, both new and returning.