New platforms leave TV execs richly flustered.

With a record number of participants (some 12,500--a seven percent increase over last year), an explosion of high quality content, and a plethora of new platforms (which helped account for a total 4,000 buyers, also a 10 percent increase over last year's numbers), the 22nd annual MIPCOM market in Cannes was nothing if not bustling. The expansion of the Palais des Festivals to include the Lerins Hall exhibition area added much needed exhibition space. And executives from Lionsgate, Channel 4 International, Foreign Media Group and Target Entertainment were among those praising the new, roomy (and Internet-friendly) area. With an increase in the number of boats doubling as exhibition spaces and entertainment venues, the crowds moved from the Palais to the port at dusk. The perma-sunny weather added to an optimistic feeling around the market, where buyers and distributors sipped champagne, relaxed on yachts and managed to fit in some business deals.

Judging both from the list of niche buyers in attendance and the conference program, new platforms are booming (and they're occupying the minds of TV executives everywhere). While the technology is undoubtedly there, many kinks (namely the business models) are still being worked out. At one SuperPanel, GroupM Entertainment president Peter Tortorici, lamented the relative simplicity of television in its heyday, saying, "We find ourselves in the position of having to re-aggregate an audience we used to be able to find in one space."

In fact, executives interviewed on the floor for a story on new platforms said that while they're beginning to understand new terminology, they're still trying to figure out how to monetize platforms like mobile and VoD. And there still remains some confusion over terminology and licensing, with, for example, MMDS rights.

But few attendees and panelists were as outspoken and potentially controversial as Todd Wagner, CEO of 2929 Entertainment, who presented a keynote address entitled, "Rethinking Hollywood."

Wagner openly criticized Hollywood's release windows for benefiting the studios only, and not the consumers. His company pioneered a new film distribution model, known as day-and-date releasing--when a film is simultaneously distributed across theaters, TV and home video. Wagner explained that this model is economically sound for distributors, saying that the traditional release schedule (when a movie is released on VHS or DVD months after its theatrical release and then onto TV even later) is based on the "dangerous assumption that consumers are still interested in a film months after it's released in theaters." He also suggested day-and-date releasing as a potential cure for piracy problems, which are running rampant throughout the entertainment industry.

In her packed keynote speech, Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, pointed to piracy as Disney-ABC's key competitor. Last year, an ad-free episode of Desperate Housewives was first downloaded onto the Internet shortly after it aired, prompting ABC to take note that "piracy is a business model, and it competes for consumers in the same way that we do." Subsequently, Disney-ABC channels were the first networks to offer their programs on Apple's iTunes.

One particular ABC show that garnered a lot of attention at MIPCOM was Ugly Betty. With news that Betty, the U.S. adaptation of global telenovela hit Soy Betty La Fea, was the highest-rated new fall show, hopes were high that this kind of success could continue. U.S. studio Fox was at the market selling three telenovelas from its MyNetworkTV collection, in addition to Ugly Betty.

In fact, territories like Germany, France and Spain are embracing the telenovela genre and creating their own programs around the Latin formats. At a conference at the Telenovelas Screenings (which took place for the second consecutive year pre-MIPCOM), RCN's Maria Lucia Hernandez and Telefe's Gonzalo Cilley agreed on the importance of being flexible with telenovela formats. "It depends on the country," said Hernandez. "But we, as colleagues, have all agreed that we won't be closed off to changes if we think they'll make a positive difference. Sometimes that will mean a change in the frequency in which the show is aired [e.g. weekly vs. daily], or additions to the plot, but we have to be willing to do that."

"When we sell a format, we always have to have a conversation about how much it is going to change," said Telefe's Cilley. "We have to remember that for viewers, this is not an adaptation, it's a local show. Some characters and storylines just won't work in certain markets. But we don't want anyone to change the essence."

Telefe's CEO, Alejandro Parra, said his company, which has made big business out of selling telenovela formats, is beginning to expand: "We're not just distributing products, we want to provide support to our clients and expand into a consulting company, so that we use our expertise in productions and promotions to help our clients."

One Latin deal announced at the market was between leading Korean TV network KBS and telenovela distributor Venevision. In an effort to make KBS productions more familiar in Latin America and Venevision penetration deeper in Asian markets, the two companies signed a deal that will see them distributing Rebel Angel (Venevision) and Winter Sonata (KBS) in each others' respective markets.

Interestingly, since last year, there was a 35 percent increase in the total number of Latin American buyers and producers attending the market.

But this increase in buyers may have more than a little to do with the Telenovelas Screenings that preceded the market. At a VideoAge breakfast for Latin American distributors, executives from the noveleros voiced their positive feedback about the event. "Our clients seem to have found it useful," said Claudia Silva, director of Marketing at Mexico's Televisa Estudios. "They said the best day for them was Sunday," pointing to the fact that many buyers don't come enough in advance to warrant Saturday screenings. "Buyers said the Screenings were useful because they were able to screen material before the market, so the meetings at MIPCOM itself [were] more efficient," said Silva.

While reversioning has been proven to translate into cold, hard cash for Latin companies, the U.S. studios are also laughing all the way to the bank. The international TV industry has rebounded, and to prove it, studios are commanding as much as U.S.$1.5 million an episode from foreign channels for a bonafide hit. Recently, the studios have received as much as $500,000 from Canada and $400,000 from the U.K. for one-hour dramas.

And it seems the upward (and outward) trajectory will continue between the U.S. studios and foreign clients. During the market, Fox announced plans to open Fox TV Studios France, a Paris-based production studio that will serve as the European outpost for expanding local productions.

And the studios aren't the only ones going highly international. Independent distributors the world over have managed to turn these sales into big business as well. "We had a great market, and in addition to our stalwart brands, we've had really strong interest and a great reaction to both The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency and Daisy Does America," said Fremantle International Distribution's David Ellender. "They're both really strong women and examples of fresh talent we're looking to grow around the world. Live From Abbey Road is another program that's engaged our buyers, not just for TV, but also for home entertainment, audio and new media. We also saw a lot of interest in The IT Crowd, which was nominated for an International Emmy award [during MIPCOM]." LC