MIP-TV... or was that the Cannes Film Fest?

Under the watchful eyes of the giant inflatable Smurfs floating surreally back and forth in the harbor of Cannes, the 35th annual MIP-TV went off without a hitch . . . but not without some

The aisles of the Palais were busy for most of the market, The six-day event, which was held April 3-8, attracted 10,515 participants from 102 countries. This represented a decrease from the previous year's 10,901 participants from 104 companies. The number of stands at MIP-TV '98 was 478, up 3 percent over the previous year. With 430 French companies attending, the home country had the greatest attendance, followed by the U.S. with 394 companies, the U.K. with 389 companies and Germany with 153 companies.

If the floor traffic looked light at times, the fault lay not in the slight attendance drop but in the fact that this year's market was scattered over several tents and five separate floors of the Palais. In addition, the recent flurry of mergers and acquisitions that threatens to sweep us all toward One Big Company means that two executives might attend MIP-TV in place of five who attended in years past.

This year's MIP-TV was accompanied by the first MIPDOC, a two day pre-market designed to highlight documentary programming. MIPDOC ran from April 1 to April 2 and included a conference entitled "Documentaries: A New Multi-Genre Product"; a "Bourse aux Co-Productions - Market Simulation" session on does; a conference titled "The Evolution of Documentaries on French-Language Channels"; and a closing party hosted by Canal Plus and Docstar. During MIP itself, Canal Plus held several events in conjunction with what it called a "Digital Weekend," finishing with an impressive display of the features of the Canal Satellite Digital service at a press conference on April 5. Other highlights of the market included the session entitled "TV Production: France Opens Up to the World" on April 4 and a session devoted to Chinese television on April 5.

1998 found the usual Cannes crowd in a mood to look back and remember. Warner Bros. celebrated its 75th anniversary by draping the Palais with a mural depicting the stars of classic black-and-white Warner Bros. movies. Worldvision threw a well attended party at the Carlton Hotel on April 5 to mark its 25th year in the business. There was a loth anniversary to be happy about at Saban. And the Video Age Daily itself was celebrating its loth year at MIP-TV.

Parties clogged MIP-TV in greater profusion than ever. It began to feel like old times: with upwards of 30 parties sprouting in every hotel, beach and tent, the TV market took on a festive air reminiscent of a certain other event that takes place in Cannes. At the MIP-TV opening fete at the Palm Beach hotel on April MIP-TV boss Xavier Roy, Prince Albert of Monaco and Pedro Font, president and CEO of Protele (which co-sponsored the party) chatted it up while being entertained by the enthusiastic gyrations of the Mexican rock group Mestizzo. And RAI celebrated the launch of its new television program sales arm, RAI Trade, with a bash at the Martinez Hotel on April 5.