MipTV Online Plus Features Showcases, Pitches, Presentations

Reed Midem launches its MipTV Online Plus initiative Monday as a digital alternative to the conference that was scheduled to open on the same day in Cannes, but it includes many of the elements that were planned for the physical event.

Among the streamed sessions on Monday morning (Paris time) will be the invitation-only Drama Buyers Summit, which is a showcase of 10 high-end scripted series for buyers.

The lineup contains three comedy-dramas: the U.S.’s “The Baker and the Beauty,” ordered by ABC, Spain’s “Nasdrovia,” which will play on Movistar Plus, and Spain’s “Benidorm,” for Antena 3.

There are three crime dramas: the U.K.’s “Bloodlands,” commissioned by BBC, Spain’s “Disappeared,” a Mediaset Espana production, and Russia’s “Wolf Trap,” from NTV.

The remaining series are mystery drama “Unseen” and a whodunnit with a supernatural twist “Beau Sejour,” both from Belgium, Swedish action thriller “The Machinery,” and Germany’s “The Window,” a drama thriller.

The morning sessions of the digital event – running Monday through Thursday – are dedicated to showcases and pitching sessions for upcoming shows, running under the banner “What’s Next – Curated Content Discovery.”

These sessions include showcases of factual shows and kids programs on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, and pitching sessions for drama series (Monday through Wednesday), kids shows (Monday), formats (Tuesday), and documentaries (Wednesday).

The afternoons are filled with conference sessions, running under the banner “What’s Trending – Curated Market Intelligence.”

The Wit’s Virginia Mouseler will present the company’s “Fresh TV” series of presentations on content trends: on formats (Monday), kids’ shows (Tuesday), and fiction series (Wednesday).

Another session is a data-driven presentation by Guy Bisson, executive director of Ampere Analysis, titled “What’s Hot and What’s Not: Scripted and Unscripted Commissioning and Development Trends.”

Glance’s head of content insight, Avril Blondelot, and its vice president, Frédéric Vaulpré, will deliver “One TV Year in the World: Cracking Audience Trends,” a presentation on audience data and trends.

MipTV delegates can view sessions on demand each day from 9.30 A.M. (CET), and they will remain available until April 3.

Lucy Smith, television division deputy director at Reed Midem, spoke to Variety about the challenges of setting up the digital event.

“We are attempting to launch something we have never done before in timelines that usually would be considered impossible. And we’re trying to do it while everyone is working remotely. It is undoubtedly a very big challenge,” she said.

“And the challenge hasn’t just been ours – our contributors have all had to play their part too. Our aim is to share the best of MipTV with our community, and the program we have put together showcases some of the best highlights from the planned program with some amazing new content from clients around the world. At very short notice we’ve had to ask people to produce their own sessions, often from their homes, and everyone has really risen to the challenge and been amazing in their response. Practically everyone has managed to deliver what we’ve needed and we’ve lost very few speakers, which given the circumstances is a major achievement!”

“So a challenge, yes, but also a great learning opportunity for us. Whatever happens, digital is going to play a more important part going forward and this process is giving us vital feedback and knowledge that we can apply in the future.”

Smith also spoke about the response of TV distributors and buyers to the online version of the Drama Buyers Summit and the pitching sessions.

“The response overall has been very positive,” she said. “Everyone we’ve spoken to understands it’s not possible to replicate all the benefits of face-to-face sessions, but what we are doing will at least give them a platform and visibility to our wide international audience, which will allow them to actively engage and connect.”

“We’ll be showing 10 brilliant new series from international companies as part of the Drama Buyers Summit, so we’re thrilled with the result and the feedback we’ve had suggests our clients are happy too.”

By Leo Barraclough