14/04/2015 - The event in Cannes is presenting a growing number of shows and formats from all over the world

Content-wise, this year’s MIPTV is characterised by a focus on localisation, but also on the trend to stick to reality. The winner of the MIPDoc International Pitch competition was A Leak in Paradise, about Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer, who passed records of his bank’s dealings with huge offshore projects for tax defrauders to WikiLeaks. The film is being pre-sold by Ventes-CBA/WIP-Sales in Belgium.

“Let's tell our story honestly and not worry about trying to make it more universal,” is also the advice of American writer-director-producer and creator Steven Levitan, whose long list of Emmy-awarded hits includes Greg the Bunny, Wings and Modern Family. “Let's tell our experience specifically and realistically and see what happens,” said Levitan during his MIPTV Media Mastermind Keynote. 

For four days, huge companies such as Disney’s Maker Studios and Talpa Global are trying to launch their next hits, which will appeal to traditional TV viewers as well as to the multi-screen-addicted millennials. In order to reach a wide audience, the content needs to be formatted for different distribution channels. “With MIP Digital Fronts, we’ve built the bridge between the new ecosystem in terms of original content online and the TV industry, thus creating a truly expanded TV ecosystem,” says MIPTV director Laurine Garaude (read the interview). “We have a line-up of 15 screenings starting on Tuesday afternoon with Maker Studios through to Thursday afternoon.” Besides founding partners Maker Studios, YouTube, DailyMotion and Vice, new partners such as Collected Digital Studio, AwesomenessTV and Screen Australia are now also on board. “They are bringing talents that produce content from all over the world.” 

Among the huge firms that are heading to Cannes with fresh formats such as The Most Beautiful Woman, Chef on the Block and Dogs: Their Secret Lives is FremantleMedia. As one of the largest creators, producers and distributors of television brands in the world, FremantleMedia announced an exclusive joint-venture partnership with Shanghai Media Group (SMG)’s BesTV and China Media Capital (CMC) in order to create and develop entertainment formats for the Chinese market. It is also part of the strategic deal to bring proprietary Chinese content to the world market through FremantleMedia’s global distribution network. “The content opportunities in the world are growing,” concludes Garaude. “This is why our shows are growing.”