Making the most of MIPCOM: plenitude of product dictates strategy.

Plentitude of product dictates strategy

The annual pilgrimage buyers and sellers make to Cannes for MIPCOM is not necessarily a religious experience, but is nonetheless a staple of industry executives' travel schedules. Participants' agendas vary depending on whether they represent a Studio, a mini-major or a small company.

By the time MIPCOM takes place, from October 9 to 13, the new fall U.S. TV season will be in full swing. Rachel Wells, senior vp of Marketing Sales Support for Columbia TriStar International Television (CTIT), said that "by MIPCOM there are more episodes to view, and in a lot of cases buyers are waiting to see first ratings of the new shows as well as to see more than just the pilot." However, Wells maintains that "each market is unique" and that it is common for companies to premiere new shows at the markets throughout the year. This year CTIT has 11 new series and 17 returning series. Is it true that the more product one has the easier it is to sell? According to Wells, "the odds are obviously better if you have more product, since chances of selling are higher. At the same time, one also has the opportunity to show other product that a buyer might not have been initially interested in. However, with a small inventory you can focus more closely on that particular product, also allowing you to sell it more efficiently."

Paramount's Joe Lucas, senior vp of Sales and Administration, also believes that the timing of MIPCOM is perfect for selling more fall product. "Aside from Canada, [which is] at the L.A. Screenings, the rest of the world is at MIPCOM," remarked Lucas. He admitted that selling product is a 12-month-a-year job and that strategy differs from show to show. This year Paramount has five new network shows, including the action-adventure series JAG and Deadly Games on UPN.

"There is only a certain amount of sales one can do at the L.A. Screenings; follow-up is for MIPCOM," commented Armando Nunez Jr., president of New World's International Television Distribution. Nunez acknowledged that buyers want to "talk more" once there are more episodes of a show, which immediately increases the chances of selling it if it is a quality show. "The more quality product one has, the easier it is to sell," said Nunez. At the top of the list of product New World will be featuring at the market are three U.S. network shows: Strange Luck, a one-hour series on Fox, and Profit and Second Noah for mid-season.

MIPCOM was once thought of as a showcase for the latest programs produced for the new TV season. However, many overseas buyers, most of whom have already bought the new shows at the L.A. Screenings in May, are finding that there's more to MIPCOM than just fall fare.

"Although meaningful, MIPCOM is really an opportunity to meet producers and distributors," said Russell Watkins, U.S.-based consultant for Nine Network in Australia and president of RWI Enterprises. Rebecca Segal of BSkyB said that she mostly looks at mid-season product, feeling that it is too soon to tell what's "gonna fly" as far as new fall product. Segal uses MIPCOM as an opportunity to look for programming from other areas besides the U.S. "We'll be adding a few more Australian shows to our schedule, as well as renewing Due South from Canadian distributor Alliance," she noted.

German buyers are becoming more and more selective in terms of imported shows, commented Horst Mueller, U.S.-based buyer for ZDF. "The German market is getting more domestically oriented, not only the traditional public broadcasters, but commercial stations as well," Mueller said. This obviously leaves less room for U.S. series, but Mueller stated that TV movies and theatrical features are still attractive. Mueller said that ZDF does occasionally buy series, usually because distributors package them with films as part of a deal. "Because of this, a lot of TV series end up on fringe time and not during primetime," Mueller remarked. "ZDF doesn't have a single time slot for a single imported series."

Conversely, the weekly programming schedule of Canada's CTV is generally U.S.-oriented. "It is more a reflection of the quality of shows and proximity of signal," noted Arthur Weinthal, vp of Entertainment for CTV. "Canada is unique in that foreign [American] product has more of a foothold in the province, since it is really a part of the North American TV system." As CTV buys most of its fall fare in May, Weinthal said his primary reasons for going to MIPCOM are to support Canadian distributors and producers and look for co-production deals with Europeans as well as Americans.

Unapix Entertainment Inc. will be showcasing its first co-production, Ushuaia: Adventures of Nicolas Hulat, at MIPCOM this year. The series, based on France's most popular primetime TV action-adventure show, marks the company's first venture with French producer Protecrea and broadcaster/distributor TF1. Earlier this year Unapix International acquired distribution rights to the series in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Portugal, Japan, South-east Asia, Oceania, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Scott Hanock, managing director of Unapix International, said that the series is being re-formatted for the U.S. marketplace and is slated for U.S. syndication. "Our goal is to build a strong line-up of series with viewer appeal that can work well for broadcasters and cable systems globally," commented Hanock.

For Worldvision's Bert Cohen, MIPCOM is "business as usual." In addition to continuing relationships with clients at the market, Cohen also tries to get a better feel for the international marketplace. "I'm always on the look-out for new channels in other countries," commented Cohen. Thus far, TeleUno, Worldvision's co-venture with Multivision in Mexico, is the first of many international channels the company plans to launch as a way to showcase Spelling network programs and Worldvision series. Worldvision will debut two new products at the market: The Invaders, a mini-series for Fox, and the two-hour Ocean Beach High (working title) from Spelling, a pilot for a one-hour NBC series. The company will also continue to sell the one-hour series Kindred: The Embraced, which will be a mid-season show on the Fox network.