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October 14 2026 www.mipcom.com TODAY INSIDE

Ann Skelly Star of Fifth Season series Honey, which premiered at MIPCOM. The screening promp093_NBCU_N3_Newlyweds_COM ted early deals announced in Cannes this week. Page 23

TODAY AT MIPCOM CANNES

Pierre Branco

Anthony Zuiker

Dawn Yang

Dennis Papirowski

The Studio TF1 CEO is targeting expansion in English-language scripted content and stories with global appeal, he told delegates at a session yesterday. Page 14

The CSI creator used his MIPCOM address to unveil Cinemalistics, an AI-powered true-crime platform, enabling audiences to follow stories as they unfold. Page 4

The TikTok head of entertainment welcomed content creators to the MIPCOM stage to explore the next generation of storytelling. Page 8

The TikTok global head of content gives a MIP Headliner talk on The Future Of Entertainment in the Grand Auditorium, 16.00

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CSI and Cinemalistics creator Anthony E Zuiker

More criminal intent from CSI’s Anthony E Zuiker

CSI CREATOR Anthony E Zuiker used his MIP Headliner to unveil Cinemalistics, a new AI-powered true-crime platform designed to transform breaking criminal investigations into continuously evolving films and documentaries. Speaking in a session titled The Age Of Understanding: How AI, Storytelling And Verified Intelligence Are Reinventing The Future Of Media, Zuiker said the platform would allow audiences to follow major crime stories as they unfold, combining cinematic reconstructions, documentary reporting and access to verified source material. The television veteran, whose CSI franchise has generated more than 900 episodes over 25 years, argued that traditional approaches to crime storytelling are increasingly out of step with the speed of contemporary news. “By the time I bring original crime shows into the world, the story’s already faded,” he said. Zuiker’s ambition is to create and scale a service that allows a major crime to become the subject of an AI-powered film and a classic news-responsive documentary within hours, with the content changing as new evidence emerges. “The film is no longer something you watch after the story is over. It becomes something you live while the story is still being written,” he said. Zuiker described Cinemalistics as a new cate-

gory of media platform rather than a streaming service, news website or doc studio. He argued that it would help audiences address t information overload. “We’re drowning in information,” he said. “The problem is understanding it.” The concept is built around four components. The first, the cinematic experience, uses AI-assisted production and verified public information to reconstruct events as they develop. The second, a documentary experience, presents the same material through interviews, reporting, timelines and analysis. A third component, described as a verification layer, enables viewers to

‘Something you live while the story is still being written’ identify the sources, including police reports, emergency calls, court documents, witness statements and forensic evidence. Finally, a continuously updated live archive allows users to explore the documents, photographs, videos and

other materials for themselves. Zuiker illustrated the concept with the 2022 murders of four students in Idaho, showing how the platform could have reconstructed the developing investigation as evidence emerged. He also outlined a longer-term ambition to give audiences AI tools to create their own evidence-based doc presentations using material from the verified archive: “Not by creating new facts, but by allowing our community to examine existing facts from different perspectives.” The business model extends beyond real-time consumption, he added. Once an investigation concludes, its evolving cinematic and doc versions could become completed productions available for licensing to broadcasters and streaming platforms. “In other words, every major crime creates two opportunities,” Zuiker said: an immediate audience experience and a permanent library asset. Zuiker stressed Cinemalistics is more than a true-crime application. He described it as an operating system for understanding complex stories, potentially marking a transition from the age of information to what he calls “the age of understanding”. He envisages extending the technology into breaking news, politics, culture, history and other areas where complex stories develop over time.

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Phillips: ‘commission by audience, not by algorithm’ A BROADCASTER that allows algorithms to dictate commissioning decisions rather than audience needs risks becoming a “creative carcass”, a senior figure at the BBC has said. Issuing a stern warning to the industry over the use of algorithms by platforms such as YouTube, BBC chief content officer, Kate Phillips, said that for commissioners a deeper understanding of audiences must remain fundamental to their thinking. Phillips said: “Someone asked me ‘Would you commission based on algorithms?’ I’d like to say, very clearly, absolutely not. Just because the distribution mechanism is changing, doesn’t mean our creative goals have changed. “YouTube is not a commissioner, it’s a platform. If you commission based on algorithms, you are literally a creative carcass. That’s it. You’ve got to look at the audiences and what they want.” Phillips made the comments during a major headline session of MIPCOM

BBC’s Kate Phillips (on the big screen), talks BBC content strategy

yesterday in an on-stage conversation featuring senior BBC figures. Joining Phillips on stage were BBC Studios execs; Zai Bennett, CEO and CCO for global content, and Shelley Macintyre, CEO of brands & licensing. Macintyre praised the potential of YouTube — on which the BBC has amassed 15 million followers — as a means to “surface” BBC content with different audiences. “We can tell stories in different ways to audiences that may not have seen the storytelling on traditional services,” Macintyre said. “It’s really important when building brands that you know where the communities are and can surface the content to them in a natural and authentic way.” Bennett said the BBC remains focused on content, rather than platforms, as the key driver for creative decisions, and that assiduous development was as important as ever. “I don’t think of it as platforms,” he said. “Ideation can come from anywhere. Nothing comes fully formed and ready to be a brand.” The panel covered a number of major topics, including the current wave of BBC cost-cuts, ways to develop brands from IP, the ethics of AI, and the outlook for broadcasting in the coming years given the political and economic uncertainty facing the world. Phillips said: “We are in tougher times financially. But out here in the market it feels more optimistic to me than it has for a while. I don’t want less money to make us more risk-averse or stop our ambitions. I’m hopeful that we will go into better times going forward. I am optimistic. Cautiously optimistic.”

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ADS SET TO DRIVE SVOD’S GROWTH

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Ampere Analysis’ Guy Bisson

ADVERTISING is no longer a side hustle for SVOD services. According to Guy Bisson, executive director at Ampere Analysis, their ad tiers will soon be their biggest source of both viewers and revenues. “The streaming market, for the first 15 to 20 years of its life, was driven by a subscription model. That is no longer the case. The growth in streaming is now coming from advertising,” Bisson said at yesterday’s session, The New Economics Of Content: Why Advertising Matters. He added: “In the West, there will be more subscribers on an ad tier than on a non-ad tier by the end of this year, and more revenue will come from ad tiers than non-ad tiers by 2029.” Bisson outlined some other big shifts, including a change in how the streamers drive meaningful spikes in new-subscriber sign-ups: “A decent TV show would do it four or five years ago. Now, pretty much the only things that move the needle are live events, sports and really big shows — season three of Stranger Things, season three of Squid Game, etc.” Bisson was joined on stage by Tubi’s SVP of content acquisition and partnerships, Sam Harowitz, and Vizio’s head of new content, Daisy Risher, to discuss ad-supported platforms. “Ads are not a bug, they are a feature of our service and something we are all looking to optimise,” Harowitz said. Risher added: “Brands are looking for good stories that connect to the demographic they want to reach. And a path to sales,” she said.

How TikTok storytellers turn clicks into hits across screens TIKTOK’s global head of entertainment and microseries, Dawn Yang, welcomed creators to the stage to explore the potential of transforming short-form TikTok videos into scalable entertainment brands. Successful digital storytellers Ambar Driscoll and Will Njobvu told delegates during Monday’s session, Developing Formats On TikTok: The Next Generation Of Storytelling, how they leverage real-time audience engagement to build fandoms, develop original IP and shape entertainment culture. Driscoll, the founder of The Fangirl Nation, has built a community via TikTok who share a love of popular culture, including film and TV. “It has made me realise that young people have a huge desire to bond over their favourite shows,” she said. As well as creating behind-the-scenes content on film and TV productions, including talent interviews, Driscoll has also rallied her community to attend in-person events. “The studio or production house pays for the events, which in

turn generate more content,” she said. Njobvu, who started his career in television journalism, said that he felt “relief” that he could “finally be authentic” when he began creating his own content. Today, his podcast focuses on reality TV, interviewing contestants that have been “booted or banished” from popular TV shows. The other panelist, Adam Cohen, head of studio at Sidemen Productions, talked about the leap taken by UK YouTube collective the Sidemen to create content for Netflix. First launched on YouTube,

Inside is a reality competition in which creators live together and tackle a range of challenges. Netflix picked up two subsequent seasons before commissioning Outside, an outdoor version of the contest. “We also share Inside and Outside clips to TikTok to be discovered by an even wider audience,” Cohen said. However, Cohen warned about the pitfalls of adapting content originating on platforms such as TikTok. “Scaling is the biggest challenge that creators face because their brand is often about the individual,” he said.

TikTok’s Dawn Yang (left), Sidemen Productions’ Adam Cohen and creators Will Njobvu and Ambar Driscoll

Netflix open to ‘anarchy’ in the UK WHAT happens when one of the world’s biggest streamers gets into business with seven creators who do things entirely their own way? Outside — a number one show in the UK, top 10 in 40 other countries… and “anarchy”, in the words of Netflix commissioner Keziah Ogun. “At Netflix, we like to lean into risk but this was crazy for us.” So what was risky? The launch cadence, for one thing: a show dropping daily for eight days, and, from the giant streamer’s point of view, a drastically short production schedule. “We’d never done anything like it in UK unscripted. As much as we have our processes, they taught us we could really get things done. It was a really big experiment for us and it worked really well,” Ogun added. For Adam Cohen, head of studio at Sidemen Productions, talking with Ogun at the Creators Connect : Netflix x Sidemen, How Does It Really

Work? session, the timescales felt more relaxed. He explained that Inside — an earlier series that started on YouTube that Netflix then acquired — was conceived in 30 days and shot in seven. “YouTube is about speed. Now, we have longer timelines, but how do we combine YouTube timelines and Netflix scale? Over [Outside] we found a hybrid.” For Ogun and Cohen, the success of the partnership came down to trust, and to both sides understanding where the real red lines were. Netflix had to let the Sidemen be authentic to their audience and methods; the Sidemen had to trust Netflix’s expertise on its platform. Now that the partnership is proven, they’re looking to the future. “It’s what they want it to look like: scripted, gaming, we have a presence in those worlds and we’re open,” Ogun said. “We want to open the door to other content creators to be on Netflix,” Cohen added.

Netflix’s Keziah Ogun

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Delivering quality drama in the digital-first ecosystem WHAT does “premium” mean when production value alone no longer guarantees attention? And what would change if digital platforms were treated not simply as marketing channels, but as partners in development, audience-building, financing, distribution and world-building? These were just two of the questions explored by Adam Cunningham, CEO, Allied Global Marketing, in his keynote on Tuesday morning for the Drama Co-Production Summit session After The Prestige Pipeline – Producing Premium Drama In A Digital-First World. Cunningham examined why drama remains unusually dependent on the traditional television ecosystem, where new models are already emerging, and what producers must rethink if ambitious, high-quality

storytelling is to find audiences and remain economically viable in the years ahead. He also sought to define terms such as “premium” and “prestige”, as he helped delegates understand how producers can “make premium drama and release it for the way that audiences live now”. He added: “Premium implies ambition and care in the words used,” noting that a large budget wasn’t always necessary. “Prestige is an earned reputation for exceptional work,” he said. Through a series of experimental models, he explored how workflows such as marketing and audience capture are now key considerations at the start of a drama’s lifecycle, rather than being project afterthoughts. He illustrated this with the example of Skam, a

Norwegian teen-drama series that broke multiple viewership records in the country by drip-feeding audiences with clips, conversations and social-media posts across the

Allied Global Marketing’s Adam Cunningham

Are we having a format ‘drought’? IS 2026 seeing a dearth of genuinely exciting new formats, or are there deeper issues with industry business models that are squashing those good ideas? Opinions varied at MIPCOM’s FRAPA Format Summit. “Everybody is talking about the format pipeline getting drier and drier. I agree that this year it seems to be the driest format pipeline ever,” said Axel Kühn, managing director of Tresor Productions.

Signal.Stream founder Wouter van der Pauw pinpointed a different issue. “We don’t have an ideation problem, we have a validation problem, because a lot of the business models that are in play are not really working any more,” he said. Van der Pauw suggested that the idea of producing several formats and hoping for “the hit that’s going to pay for it all” is what has stopped working. Signal.Stream uses its

From left: Wouter van der Pauw, Signal.Stream; Jenn Levy, Amazon MGM Studios; Axel Kühn, Tresor Productions; Helen Greatorex, Banijay; and Nick Smith, FRAPA

broadcast week, before unifying and combining the content into one full episode on Fridays. He explained that fresh thinking about how audiences discover content was crucial in a digital-first world. After the keynote, delegates in the room further explored topics on roundtables which had each been seeded with a drama producer to lead discussions.

YouTube channel, which has 2.7 million followers, to test new formats. “Audience is the new greenlight,” he said. “We took 24 swings last year and ended up with six really good formats. I think those numbers make a lot of sense though.” The panel also saw Amazon MGM Studios head of unscripted development Jenn Levy talking about what she looks for in formats. “It’s that ‘I gotta see how this ends’ quality. That’s

table stakes in streaming, different to what you watch on your phone or on YouTube,” Levy said. She also suggested there has been an “over-rotation into IP for unscripted” in recent times, praising Netflix’s Wonka and Squid Game shows, but questioning other recent IP-based projects. “Board games and things like that. I think: how much of this do we actually need?” Levy said. “We’re not chasing IP, but when the IP lends itself so beautifully to reality storytelling or unscripted storytelling, we’ll go after it.”

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Summit delegates debate Asian trends at MIPCOM

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Summit gives Asia’s industry chiefs a global perspective

Still travelling well: Japan’s fun formats “JAPAN has always had the creativity. What’s new is the momentum behind it,” said Makito Sugiyama, executive director of BEAJ (the Broadcast Programme Export Association of Japan), at the Treasure Box Japan session. As proof, he pointed to growing investment in and strong government support

for the content industry — $370m (€331m) in 2025, up 44% on 2024 — and a greater ambition to take Japanese ideas to the global market. Japan has created five of the all-time global top 10 IPs — including Hello Kitty, Pokémon and Pac-Man — and two of the top 10 international formats; now it was

THE MIPCOM Asia x Global Executive Summit was an opportunity for senior Asian and international executives to network and share ideas through an interactive format. Featuring a mix of presentations and breakaway roundtable discussions, the event gave participants the chance to explore the growing global influence of Asian content and identify new pathways for collaboration across the international television and entertainment industries. Opening the summit with a presentation of key regional findings, Janine Stein, editorial director, ContentAsia noted that “digital now drives the screen economy”. She said screen revenue in the APAC region was up to $172bn (€154bn) in 2026, from $136bn in 2021. While markets like China and Japan dominate, India and south-east Asia are experiencing rapid growth.

reaching out more than ever to international partners. Japanese formats are “distinctive, adaptable and ready to travel,” he said, before presenting a selection of 10 to an audience of buyers. They were: Fort (TBS Television); Panic Wheel (Kansai TV); Trade Room (TV Asahi); Tri Tag (Fuji Television); Ultra Mission (Gyokuro Studio/Nippon TV); Charge Me Up! (TV Tokyo Corporation); Tested & Ranked (MBS

Makito Sugiyama (left), Vasha Wallace and Tim Crescenti

She cited important trends such as “linear TV shrinking faster as a business than as a medium” and while describing cinema as “flat”, suggested that “local film is the clearest growth opportunity”. The presentation was followed by curated roundtable discussions hosted by leading Asian industry decision-makers, allowing participants to gain firsthand insights into the region’s most significant opportunities, market dynamics and emerging trends. Table topics included ‘Malaysia’s multi-platform playbook’, ‘Testing the boundaries of Indonesian streaming’ and ‘From local success to global hit – the international appeal of C-drama’. Kazuo Takaya, president of global strategy at Japan’s Nippon TV, said that his roundtable explored how European companies and Japanese studios might create new commercial and creative value together. “We see MIPCOM and the Summit as a catalyst for building on our creative relationship with European partners,” he said.

Inc); Cash Stash (Yomiuri TV); Save Money (Chukyo TV); and Bet On What’s Next (ABC TV). Picked out for particular acclaim was Fort, in which two teams attempted to win $10,000 by hiding their flag in a homemade fort while trying to penetrate their opponents’ fort. “It taps into something everyone remembers from childhood, constructing a secret base,” said panelist Vasha Wallace, an international format consultant. Meanwhile, Tim Crescenti, CEO of Small World IFT, praised the “simplicity” and set design of Trade Room, in which two teams of five went head-tohead in a series of puzzles and psychological mind games — and were forced to trade a teammate when a buzzer sounded, putting loyalty and trust in question. “Japanese formats are so original and I’m intrigued about what’s coming next. There’s always something playful, and a real confidence in being fun,” Wallace said of the selection overall.

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Studio TF1 building bridges to the anglophone world

STUDIO TF1 is targeting further expansion in English-language scripted content while using its European production base to develop stories with international potential, CEO Pierre Branco told MIPCOM delegates. Speaking during the session French Roots, Global Reach, Building An International Studio, Branco said the French-owned production and distribution group sees opportunities in the US and UK, building on its North American TV movie business and UK scripted producer Clapperboard. “We feel that there’s an opportunity to expand further into the English-speaking world, to have a more meaningful presence in that space,” he said. He highlighted Clapperboard’s new ITV commission She Lies In Wait, a six-part adaptation of

Gytha Lodge’s novel, for which Studio TF1 holds international distribution rights. Branco also revealed a new IP investment fund to help group producers acquire rights they might otherwise struggle to afford. However, he also stressed that the company’s European identity remains central to its strategy, positioning Studio TF1 as a bridge between continental Europe and English-speaking markets. He cited High Potential, the French crime drama adapted for ABC in the US, as an example of local storytelling travelling internationally. The original has sold into around 100 territories and generated multiple remakes. Branco also highlighted the “industrial scale” of the group’s three French daily dramas, producing more than 800 episodes annually.

Their recurring stories attract audiences across broadcast and digital platforms, supporting loyalty and retention, he said. Looking ahead, Branco said Stu-

Studio TF1’s Pierre Branco

Entertainment at AI tipping point IT IS NO secret that AI is reshaping every stage of the entertainment value chain. MIPCOM tackled the topic with the MIP AI

Entertainment Forum, a series of panels and presentations MCed by Catherine Warren, founder and president of FanTrust. FanTrust’s Catherine Warren

dio TF1 wants projects combining strong local roots with global ambition. “Stories have to mean something to someone in the first place,” he said, emphasising the studio’s ability to preserve creative freedom while providing financing and international distribution.

Warren has been hosting AI debates at MIPCOM for a decade, but said that “2026 is a tipping point in terms of familiarity with the topic”, with content specialists ever more aware of its applications, from pre-production to social media. She added: “It can seem exciting but it’s also daunting for an industry that has already experienced a lot of disruption.” The conference series brought together studios, technology companies, platforms, creators, brands and content-owners to explore practical applications, discover emerging technologies and build partnerships to define the next generation of entertainment. Opening the Forum, Warren said: “Now is our time — a time of transformation and acceleration for our industry. Once a year, when we gather in Cannes, we have the rare chance to share competitive intelligence, war stories, hot takes and profound trends.”

She described AI as “shape-shifting media, from development to distribution to discovery — and from employment to fan culture. Everyone from staff to audiences to funders has opinions on artificial intelligence. And not everyone agrees.” Confusion also reigns around funding AI-driven content, she said, with people often assuming it is essentially free. “AI comes with its own expenses and there is also a need to train and add in human roles,” she added. “Pipelines may be accelerated but the costs range from buying tokens to the impact on the planet.” Other key points of debate include ownership and rights, amid broad perceptions that AI “steals” content. “To make AI content copyrightable, you have to have a high degree of human oversight, ideally well documented and properly compensated,” she said. “But people who are successfully creating with AI are putting in a great deal of effort into directing it and understanding AI delivery models. The rewards come from the steep learning curve.”

Vuulr brings always-on sales to the global content business while broadcasters, streamers and other buyers can discover programming, screen it, check available rights and negotiate directly. The marketplace operates on a transparent commission-based structure. A particular opportunity lies in reaching untapped territories and monetising overlooked content. Independent producers can make films available in regions where they lack a sales presence. Larger distributors can generate incremental business from library titles while sales teams focus Online rights transaction platform Vuulr their energy on new programming. Creis putting content sales to work around the ators can bring short-form slates into the clock. Relaunched in September with new professional rights marketplace. leadership, new backing and a contemDespite its rapidly evolving capabilities, porary vision for today’s content market, Flint stresses that the platform compleit gives rights owners new ways to reach ments the industry’s enduring emphasis buyers and monetise their catalogues. on personal relationships. “Buyers want For co-founder and Chief Commercial to be able to discover, screen and assess Officer Ben Flint, the timing is right: titles when it suits them, at any hour “Buyers and sellers are under pressure to and wherever they are in the world. But move faster, find new opportunities, and relationships still matter. We’re building extract more value from every piece of tools for them, not replacing them.” content they own, often with less resourc- Vuulr isn’t starting from scratch. Initially aces,” he says. “Vuulr’s technology is purtive from 2018 to 2023, the platform retains pose-built for that and fills the resource an existing network of 15,000 customers, gap, with no ambition to replace jobs.” which Flint and his team are re-engaging. Vuulr, explains Flint, brings together In parallel, new innovations include the buyers and sellers in an online marketlaunch of VuulrOS at MIPCOM, a whitelaplace spanning film, television, creator bel subscription-based service giving sellers content and microdramas. Producers and their own branded, always-on website. distributors can list titles and bundles, VuulrOS is built on the same Vuulr.com

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technology, so VuulrOS customers get an identical experience - smart search across catalogues, unlimited secure screening rooms, live avails, live chat, full negotiation and deal memo handling. Sellers retain their branding and buyer relationships, with controls covering price floors, minimum guarantees, revenue-share offers and FAST bundles. Flint calls it “a Shopify for our industry”. Further automation is in development, says Flint, including an AI sales agent with human controls and pricing recommendations. Delivery, localisation, billing and reporting functionality is planned with partners for 2027, extending Vuulr’s ambition to simplify more of the licensing journey and remove “pain points”. Vuulr’s guiding principle is straightforward, says Flint: “no more spreadsheets!”. By reducing administration and keeping rights information current, Vuulr aims to give teams more time to develop relationships, close deals and thereby make more profit. “Whether companies use our marketplace or build their own branded sales website with VuulrOS, the aim is the same: to help them reach more buyers and make their content work harder. They remain in control of their rights and deals, while we provide the technology to remove friction and keep their business moving between markets.” Visit Vuulr at MIPCOM, Palais -1, stand P-1. G51, from 12–14 October or online at www.vuulr.com

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A star-studded MIPCOM reflected the variety of content brought to Cannes by companies from all over the world. Our photographers have been around town to capture them on camera

Content creator Amber Driscoll was in town for a TikTok panel

Turkish stars Selahattin Paşalı and Pinar Deniz, in Cannes for Eccho Rights’ period drama The Hatmaker, from O3 Medya

The Dream Lands star Anna Friel with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution’s Michael Bonner and Rob Bell

Actor Scott Adkins stars in action film Brutal Justice, brought to MIPCOM by Monaco’s Daro Film

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Sally Woodward Gentle (left), Emma Moran, Ann Skelly, Jennifer Ebell line up ahead of the World Premiere Screening of Fifth Season’s Honey

Actor Adrian Dunbar in Cannes for the launch of the new series of ITV’s police series Line Of Duty

Alicia von Rittberg, in town for the World Premiere Screening of Beta Film’s Queen Silvia

Actor and TikTok creator Jack Chalmers 17

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‘Stay in lane’ to succeed in branded entertainment WHEN it comes to brands in entertainment projects, knowing your lane is the key to success. Top executives from Dentsu, Fremantle, documentary producer Breakwa-

ter Studios and the real estate firm behind New York’s Rockefeller Center, shared their advice and latest wins in a MIPCOM session titled Branded Entertainment 2.0.

Alicia Parker, CMO and MD, Tishman Speyer/ Rockefeller Center

“There’s a lot to be said at the start for saying this is my side of the fence,” said Lydia Goomansingh, SVP-global head of branded entertainment at Fremantle. “Creative projects are highly charged. You don’t want it to become a cast of thousands.” Fremantle is in the midst of rethinking its approach to branding. Goomansingh joined to help cast new projects. Some producers, however, demand full creative control in order to move ahead. Kirstin Falk, senior advisor at Breakwater Studios in Los Angeles, which creates human-centred documentaries, added: “Breakwater is incredibly fortunate in that we’ll only do a project if we have full creative control.” The producer, who has worked with French beauty giant L’Oréal, advised industry players to avoid “death by consensus.” “Set the guardrails, and develop

trust and what you get back is usually better than you expected. It’s magic when it happens,” said Alicia Parker, the chief marketing officer at Tishman Speyer, which operates the Rockefeller Center. The company is thinking of the iconic New York plaza as its own media channel, given its tens of millions of visitors every year. She helped create a huge World Cup activation involving live viewing screens, soccer practice areas and 17 partners including Lego, Visa, Coca-Cola and sticker brand Panini. It was so popular online that one man from China flew in just to take a look at the activation. “That’s when we saw the power of place,” Parker said. Dentsu Entertainment’s Geneva Wasserman, EVP-entertainment IP strategy and finance, shared that the company is backing the next iteration of the Angry Birds movie as part of the Japanese-owned ad agency’s push into Hollywood. “We felt this was a fandom we could bring to our clients,” she told moderator Douglas Scott, Kynetic Media Ventures’ chief creative officer.

Access is the key for brands in sport Box to Box Films’ Paul Martin

Sideman Productions’ Adam Cohen

Goalhanger’s Tom Miceli

BRANDS are pouring into sports media like never before, but that brings its own set of challenges, said Paul Martin, the co-CEO of Box to Box Films, the production company behind Netflix’s F1 series Drive To Survive. The firm has worked with F1 brand Cadillac on a YouTube series with athlete Terry Crews and with Nike

on a live event, and is doing more work with advertisers. However, on the core business of sports documentaries he said it was much harder to incorporate brands. Martin was speaking at a MIPCOM sports IP panel helmed by David Freeman, CEO of Kynetic Media Ventures. Panelists wrestled with the topic of access and control when it comes to working with leagues and athletes. With creators used to getting access anywhere they want and some testing the limits of acceptable boundaries for filming at large tennis tournaments, the rules of access are being reset. “There’s a whole education that creators are still going through,” said Adam Cohen, head of studio, Sideman Productions, a self-funded digital production venture run by young adults under 30. Martin explained why Drive To Survive was such a landmark show for Box to Box. “The single biggest reason it has been the most successful show is that they

let us make the best version of that show.” At the time, F1 was much less popular and as a result more willing to invite the documentary makers in. In the end they gave just one note on a change to the producers. Other sports players have approached the firm for their own Drive To Survive but simply won’t share enough access. “Every sport is in a different part of its evolution, so I understand that,” Martin said. Tom Miceli is head of IP development at Goalhanger, the firm behind The Rest Is podcast series. He said the idea of access has flipped on its head when you have the UK prime minister Andy Burnham agreeing to talk to The Rest Is Politics podcast last week to discuss the Manchester City fraud revelations and Russian interference in the Brexit vote. “You are providing access to people who want to reach an audience that the company has lots of insights into,” he said.

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plained why opting for a microdrama series made sense: “It meets the audience where they are. It gave us the opportunity for some longer storytelling. And we could highlight multiple product features and get more complex with the narrative without it feeling too laboured.” A second showcase explored the rise of ‘brand documentaries’ through case studies produced by Webedia-Éléphant. Examples included Dassault Systèmes’ groundbreaking 3 x 30 mins documentary series The Engineers Of The Future on Prime Video, and an in-depth look at how Citroën redesigned and rebooted the 2CV. Hervé du Verne, founder of Elephant At Work, said the Citroën documentary was “the perfect combination of marketing and entertainment”. Later, a Bluelemon presentation explored how brands, rights-holders and creators can work together on YouTube, combining audiences, IP and creative talent to develop content partnerships and unlock

Microdramas deliver macro opportunities WHAT does the market get wrong about microdrama? According to Maria Rua Aguete, head of media and entertainment at Omdia: “A lot, actually.” Data specialist Aguete was in conversation with Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group, about premium vertical short-form drama — a topic that apparently generates as much passion among market participants as it does from its loyal consumers. Aguete defined the genre as “fundamentally misunderstood” while offering interesting revenue routes in a changing world of viewing habits. “A lot of microdramas are written for you to be so invested in a ‘super cliffhanger’ that you will want to pay for it,” Oh said. Funding routes currently include on-demand and subscription mo-

dels, as well as brand-sponsored stories that are platform agnostic. “We are addicted to short-form content,” Aguete added, arguing that phones have become content consumers’ “primary set” over the television. Data shows that three-quarters of Americans are doing something else while watching TV, with 50% of them scrolling videos on their phones. “We don’t have a content problem. We have an attention problem,” she said. In this new universe, “all streamers want a vertical strategy”, Aguete said, with markets from China to the US, Brazil and Mexico all enjoying microdrama hits. Microdrama will generate some $14.1bn (€12.6bn) in revenue worldwide this year, she added, with the genre proving popular among both men

Elephant At Work’s Hervé du Verne

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

A SERIES of MIP BrandWorks Showcases took place yesterday at the Hi5 Studio, highlighting how brands are connecting with creators, producers, platforms and rights holders to develop original IP and create new commercial opportunities. The first case study was Finding Jamie, a microdrama series that brought together Baby Teeth, Life360 and UK chef Jamie Oliver to create a brand-funded vertical comedy built for new audiences and viewing habits. The show follows a fictionalised version of Jamie Oliver, who is experiencing an existential crisis and sets off on a chaotic journey of spiritual self-discovery. Finding Jamie is part of a campaign for Life360, a family location-sharing and safety app. Throughout the episodes, Jamie’s real-life wife Jools, children and dog appear alongside him while his family tracks his exact whereabouts in real time using the app. Chris Watling, founder and partner of creative agency Baby Teeth, ex-

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Brands showcase content that connects, converts and scales

Life360’s Kate McCutchen

new commercial opportunities. The final showcase took an indepth look at how Vinted’s Live Better For Less project developed into a pan-European branded entertainment format, balancing local relevance with a consistent brand idea across different markets and audiences.

and women — in the UK, men represent 54% of consumers. Oh suggested that the genre’s growth story might include busting out of the vertical screen, although “it’s not in competition with Netflix”. Plenty of content is being created with AI, which “costs less but also earns less”. Future funding models are starting to include Telco bundles,

BabyTeeth’s Chris Watling

which help with content discovery. But many consumers, for now, enjoy the “self-indulgence” of consuming content “on their sofas, on the toilet” and watching “raunchy scenes in private”. Oh added: “You don’t need bigname actors. Unknown faces are sometimes easier to relate too and it is their authentic passions that are keeping viewers watching.”

Omdia’s Maria Rua Aguete with COL Group’s Timothy Oh

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DAILY 3 MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

Robbie G.K. and Maddie Phillips

Meatballs stars serve up ‘nuanced and quirky’ take on cult movie CANADIAN actors Maddie Phillips and Robbie G.K. are in Cannes just days after wrapping on location for a new 8 x 30 mins series remake of the classic Canadian summer-camp movie Meatballs — and the experience is still fresh for them both. Phillips plays Skipper, a counsellor who’s the life and soul of the camp, while G.K. is Dale, who’s more of a party pooper. Once an item, the pair now deny there’s anything going on, but people around them aren’t so sure, and the will-they-won’t-they vibe is significant to the show. Another plot strand is that the camp is failing financially and the team are fighting to save it from closure. “What makes the camp and the people so endearing is they’re not perfect,” Phillips said. The production took over a real summer camp on a lake in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, with nothing for miles around. “It was just so

genuine. The colours and the way that it looks and feels really play into the Meatballs IP, and I think the show does a great job of bringing that character along,” G.K. said. No mobile phone service, composting toilets in an outhouse in the woods and frequent encounters with frogs and chipmunks contributed to the cast and crew’s experience as well as the immersive, naturalistic 1970s aesthetic of the show. “When you went into the cabins, you could see writing on the walls from actual kids from the 1950s, like ‘Timmy was here’. We shot mainly with natural light, and our art department really elevated it.” Phillips said. “Watching the show, you feel like you’re actually at the camp with these characters,” G.K. added. “I think you can really tell how much fun we had making it.” The pair praised the ensemble cast, which included Randall Park as the camp owner, as well as the writing. Based in part on its creators’ childhood camp experiences, the script avoided glossy TV tropes and stereotypical characters. “It’s very nuanced and quirky,” Phillips said, “but at the same time, you know exactly who those characters are, like, that’s my friend — very authentic and relatable.” According to G.K. the show hits the spot for those of an age to experience nostalgia for their own childhood days at summer camp, but also those about to leave home for the first time or set off on their own comingof-age journey. The series is expected to debut in Canada on Bell Media’s Crave in Q2 of 2027, and is available to MIPCOM buyers via distributor Sphere Abacus. 21

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18 – 21 OCTOBER 2027 PALAIS DES FESTIVALS, CANNES, FRANCE

16 – 17 OCTOBER 2027 PALAIS DES FESTIVALS, CANNES, FRANCE

audiences respond to, but with its own completely original voice,” said Jennifer Ebell, EVP, television distribution at Fifth Season. “Emma Moran and Sid Gentle’s team have created a series that is smart, sexy and hugely entertaining, and the response from buyers ahead of its MIPCOM premiere has been extremely encouraging.” Skelly, Moran, Ebell and executive

Ann Skelly

ITV set to screen The

Galway Bay Murders

ITV HAS acquired RTÉ-commissioned crime thriller The Galway Bay Murders ahead of its Irish premiere. The UK broadcaster has agreed a deal to screen the six-part show, starring Colm Meaney and Kate Mulgrew, on ITV and streaming service ITVX. The Galway Bay Murders features

The Galway Bay Murders

producer Sally Woodward Gentle took part in a Q&A at Monday’s premiere to discuss the show. Honey is part of Fifth Season’s wider scripted slate at this MIPCOM alongside John Le Carré adaptation, Legacy Of Spies, which stars Matthew Macfadyen; psychological thriller Recap; and a new take on Treasure Island from producer Playground Entertainment.

Mulgrew as a former NYPD detective who has left New York in search of a more tranquil life on the Irish coast. The discovery of the body of a murdered woman nearby wrecks the peace she is seeking, and brings past traumas from her former life back to haunt her. The story is the result of a chance

meeting between writer Eithne Verling and Mulgrew, star of Orange Is The New Black and Star Trek: Voyager in Galway. Verling, a former archaeologist and museum curator, wrote the series with Mulgrew in mind, in what has become her television writing debut. Originally commissioned by RTÉ in Ireland, which will premiere the series, The Galway Bay Murders is produced by Two Cities Television, part of STV Studios, Keeper Pictures and AS I AM Productions. International distribution of the show is led by ITV Studios. ITV head of content acquisitions Darren Nartey said: “The Galway Bay Murders is precisely the kind of bold, high-calibre drama our audiences love. “Eithne Verling has crafted a completely magnetic crime thriller, with an outstanding cast led by Kate Mulgrew and Colm Meaney, a compelling central mystery and the stunning backdrop of Ireland’s west coast.”

Passport Properties’ Bill Nash

BILL NASH, presenter and executive producer of Passport Properties is back in Cannes to announce that season two of the luxury real estate show is in pre-production, and international licensing is under way on season one through distributor Blue Ant. Sean Buckley, owner of Toronto-based Buck Productions, has joined the expanded team for season two as executive producer. “He’s been in the business for 30 years, and I think he’s a wonderful addition to the Passport Properties journey,” Nash told MIPCOM News. “It isn’t your typical real estate genre show,” he said. “It’s a travelogue that uses incredible properties as a lens into the communities, into the culture, into the history, into the authentic stories of the people who live in those communities all over the world.” The plan for season two is to film in the Americas, Nash said. “So we will do two episodes in Florida, then Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, down to Argentina, and then potentially a couple of episodes in Brazil,” he said.

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

FIFTH Season has revealed the first wave of pre-sales for its Cold War thriller Honey following its MIPCOM World Premiere Screening on Monday. Stan in Australia, Sky in New Zealand, Hot in Israel and OSN+ for the Middle East and North Africa are the first confirmed buyers for the show, which is made by BBC Studios’ Sid Gentle Films. The six-episode drama follows Marta, a deep-cover MI6 agent in East Berlin in 1982, who is drawn into a dangerous love triangle. Ann Skelly (House Of Guinness, The Nevers) stars with Nate Mann, Jannis Niewöhner and Rory Kinnear in the series, with Emma Moran as lead writer and executive producer. The show was made for BBC iPlayer, BBC One and ZDF, with Fifth Season handling global distribution. “Honey is exactly the kind of bold, distinctive series we want to bring to the international market. It has the sharp wit, complex characters and unexpected turns that

SECOND SERIES FOR PASSPORT PROPERTIES

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Sales spree for Fifth Season’s Honey after Cannes premiere

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rior to new audiences, and had also revived the format in Israel and Australia after a few years’ hiatus. “We would like to work with more global firms and would welcome collaboration ideas,” he said. One new unscripted project that TBS is showcasing at MIPCOM is Fort!, a competition in which two teams transform abandoned buildings into fortified bases. Watanabe believes it had all the qualities required to go global and hopes to spark interest from regional players this week in Cannes. In the scripted category, TBS subsidiary The Seven is seeing global results. Created to drive new content for international audiences, it has had a successful tieup with Legendary Entertainment in taking manga-inspired Alice In Borderland to Netflix. Yesterday, Watanabe took part in the panel session The Data Opportunity: Tracking Trends, Moneti-

zing And Predicting What’s Next, which explored how data analytics is helping entertainment professionals to navigate digital distribution and maximise international content value. “Data has become a vital part of ins-

TBS Holdings’ Shinya Watanabe

Content at heart of Japanese government’s export strategy Koki Yoshida of Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

“INSPIRING a global love for Japan” has become a key motto for Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). Talking to the MIPCOM News, Shinya Watanabe, president of the Japanese media company’s global business division, TBS Holdings, said: “If our content helps create more fans of Japan around the world, we couldn’t be happier.” TBS has a broad slate of scripted and unscripted formats and also airs and distributes hundreds of anime titles. The Japanese giant has already inspired viewers globally through iconic franchises such as Ninja Warrior and Takeshi’s Castle. But Watanabe said that one of the challenges facing the group was “creating the next worldwide hit”. “Collaborating with global partners has become a vital part of that equation”, he added, noting that a team-up with Banijay Entertainment was bringing Ninja War-

piring the next creative steps,” he said. For example, Kasso, a sports game show following Japan’s top skateboarders, has become a domestic hit for TBS. Unexpectedly, the show’s Instagram channel has gained a massive organic worldwide following. Watanabe said the social-media data proved to TBS that the content had real global potential, with the result that a live event in Long Beach, California followed, attracting skateboarders from across the US.

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TBS looks for new partnerships to help spread ‘global love for Japan’

JAPANESE producers and broadcasters are redoubling their efforts to sell their content internationally — and the country’s government is backing those efforts. “Five years ago, businesses had more of a domestic focus, but now Japanese TV stations and Japanese production companies are being more proactive, and the government is supporting them in that activity,” said Koki Yoshida, director of the content distribution division at the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). The government’s export strategy is based around 17 key industries, from AI and semi-conductors to defence technology and content. In the last category, anime and live-action shows sit alongside games and music as key pillars. “The message is simple: go to the international market, utilising

technology. Sell internationally and collaborate internationally. Then earn the money and use it for re-investment,” Yoshida said. The Japanese government is particularly keen for film, TV and animation companies to re-invest international revenues in their creative staff, creating a positive flywheel to spark future international hits. “Thanks to global platforms like Netflix and Amazon, it is not so difficult to sell Japanese content to the international market,” Yoshida added. “If a Japanese company wants to take a risk or invest in co-productions and exporting their content, the Japanese government is happy to support these activities and plans.” International markets are a key part of this strategy too. “MIPCOM is a very good arena to meet the international market, and also to grasp what kind of content, storytelling and IP people all over the world are wanting,” Yoshida said. 25

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FROM traditional game adaptations to psychological thrillers, the K- Content & Format Showcase presented six highly original Korean formats. The session mixed physical and mental challenges and emotion, and emphasised scalability and adaptability of Korean intellectual property. Throw For It: Yut War from Studio Space Rabbit was a high-stakes adaptation of the centuries-old Korean board game Yut Nori. Four teams of four players competed on a giant board, their movement determined by throwing four sticks. Synchro Game, produced by CJ ENM with TBS (Japan), was a survival format pairing a ‘brain’ with a ‘physical’ contestant to solve challenges. Teammates were physically separated but remained synced via audio and body cams. The Logic from KBS Media was a debate-performance survi-

AI drives Huace’s MIPCOM slate CHINESE content powerhouse Huace Media is showcasing a range of AI-driven entertainment projects at MIPCOM, including an original supernatural drama and a virtual boyband inspired by traditional Chinese culture. The company’s slate includes Crimson Pact, a drama produced entirely using AI. Set in modern-day New

Mo:v (Huace Media)

York and a hidden supernatural world, the series follows Elliot, a museum employee who accidentally awakens Vlad, an ancient vampire king. When a supernatural encounter goes wrong, the two find themselves sharing the same body. Combining fantasy, action and dark comedy, the series features elaborate sequences ranging from subway

chases and gatherings of werewolves to battles in wartime Europe. Huace says the project demonstrates AI’s potential to create consistent characters and fictional worlds across serialised storytelling. Also being presented is Mo:v, an AI-powered five-member boy band inspired by the Chinese five elements — Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Ear-

th — and ancient Mohist engineering philosophy. The group has its own mythology, involving five mechanical beings created more than 2,000 years ago and reawakened in the modern world. Huace envisages developing the property beyond music into character licensing, brand partnerships, collectibles, gaming and screen entertainment. With AI emerging as a major talking point at this year’s MIPCOM, Huace is also introducing Stage1, an AI-powered production platform designed for independent creators, studios, short-drama producers and brands. The platform brings together functions including character consistency, asset management, AI model selection and shot co-ordination within a structured production environment. Huace says its ambition is to move AI beyond experimental tools, making professional production capabilities accessible to a wider range of creators. Huace has been working closely with Utopai Studios, a keynote speaker at MIPCOM 2026. Their collaborations include an AI adaptation of Journey To The West.

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

KBS Media’s Jungmin Park introduces The Logic format

val show featuring 100 contestants with diverse perspectives competing through logic, persuasion and mind games. Progress was tracked via coins, which determined alliances and final eligibility. TXT Parenting Diary from MBC, meanwhile, was a reimagining of a hit 2000s unscripted format. Five K-pop idols cared for a 24-month-old toddler, writing a diary of their progress. In weekly episodes over 100 days, audiences saw five young men learn and grow up alongside the toddler in an emotional show with star power. The session then turned to scripted IP. Family Matters (6 x 50 mins/Just iPicked) was a black-comedy thriller originally produced for Coupang Play. It followed five strangers with supernatural abilities living in a mysterious town after escaping from a facility. Finally, Beyond The Bar (12 x 70 mins/ SLL Joongang) was a legal drama written by a practising lawyer. Featuring a tough boss and his sensitive rookie recruit, it balanced the tension of the courtroom with emotive cases and themes of personal growth.

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Scalable and adaptable: Korea shows off high-concept formats

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sabled, and also epileptic. He plays his own role in this series. But this is not sad. It’s comedic. It’s to show people that when you have these kinds of challenges in life, you can have a great family life. The challenges of the show is the balance, the right line, between sadness and heartwarming and the comedic. I think that balance has been reached.” About Antoine has won a

Nicely Entertainment’s Vanessa Shapiro

Just For Laughs’ Sylvain Parent-Bédard (left), France Télévisions’ Cyril Giraudbit, and Just For Laughs’ Lenny Jo Goudreau and Veronique Bussières

Radial partners with FirstLookStudios for true-crime series RADIAL Entertainment and the UK’s FirstLookStudios have reunited to produce a third series of true-crime series Making A Se-

MIPCOM Diversify TV Award, as well as a best foreign fiction award at the Festival de la Fiction in La Rochelle. A movie version of season three of the series will air on France Télévisions this December. Cyril Giraudbit, director of media at France Télévisions, said: “Our mission is to show differences and be inclusive — to show the diversity in the population in a positive way.”

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

JUST For Laughs Distribution has secured deals with French and Swiss broadcasters for an award-winning comedy series and movie that tells the true story of living with multiple disabilities. The Canadian distributor has signed deals with France Télévisions and RTS in Switzerland that will see About Antoine air in various iterations in the two countries. The series stars Antoine Parent-Bédard, who has lived with multi disabilities since childhood. The story centres on the developing relationship between Antoine’s father and a woman who gradually takes on the role of the boy’s stepmother. The events are based on the true experiences of Sylvain Parent-Bédard, Antoine’s father and president and chief executive of Just For Laughs, and his long-term partner, Canadian comedian, screenwriter and actress Cathleen Rouleau, who wrote the show’s script. Parent-Bédard said: “This is special for me. Antoine is polydi-

NICELY DOES IT WITH FAMILYFRIENDLY FOCUS

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Just For Laughs sells Antoine’s story to France and Switzerland

rial Killer (10 x 60 mins), which examines the chilling back stories and psychological make-up of some of the world’s most noto-

FirstLookStudios’ Lucy Middelboe (left), Radial Entertainment’s Cristina Guggino, FirstLookStudios’ Will Hanrahan of and Radial Entertainment’s Katie Carroll

rious serial killers. Radial has taken the exclusive rights for the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Austria for the series’ third outing, which is set to premiere in December on FilmRise channels and additional platforms in the US. “We’re focused on building lasting true-crime franchises with international appeal,” said Cristina Guggino, Radial’s VP of originals and content partnerships. “Making A Serial Killer delivers on that strategy by examining the mind of a killer without losing sight of the human impact.” Will Hanrahan, co-founder and editor-in-chief of FirstLookStudios, said his company’s partnership with Radial was a “fantastic editorial, commercial and strategic collaboration”. He added: “Making A Serial Killer is about the ‘why’ as much as it is about the ‘how’ and ‘how were they caught’. It’s a proven winner with true-crime audiences.”

PRODUCER and distributor Nicely Entertainment is in Cannes with seasons one to three of County Rescue, the first original drama series from US broadcaster Great American Media. County Rescue, a medical drama that follows a dedicated team of first responders, premiered on SVOD platform Great American Pure Flix in 2024. “Each episode features a specific rescue. It’s very family-friendly,” said Nicely Entertainment founder and CEO Vanessa Shapiro. Season four is currently in production. Nicely is also showcasing Crossroad Springs, on which it is also a co-producer. The faith-driven drama follows adult siblings who return to their family’s heartland ranch to navigate a generational feud. Season two premiered last month on Great American Pure Flix and Great American Family. Nicely Entertainment is a boutique production and distribution company that specialises in family series and movies. “We’re going to celebrate seven years in January,” Shapiro said. “We now have a catalogue of 160 movies so, at the rate of 20 to 25 movies a year, we have been growing very fast. We have found our niche: female-focused, feelgood, inspirational romance and, of course, Christmas.”

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ELECTRIC Entertainment has expanded its global operations through the rolling out of its streaming service to more Spanish-speaking viewers in the US and the successful sale of original content in Central Europe. The company will now reach more US viewers than ever through its Spanish-language free streaming

Beefcake on the menu in Bulges CANADIAN streaming giant Crave gave the world the hit ice-hockey drama Heated Rivalry. Now it is hoping to replicate that success with a new comedy called Bulges, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the Saved By The Bell actor who went viral earlier this year for showing off his startlingly muscly new physique. Gosselaar’s new vehicle turns sexism on its head. It is a workplace comedy that centres on a group of waiters in a failing restaurant that’s Bulges’ Shane Cunningham (left) and Mark-Paul Gosselaar

the male version of Hooters, the US restaurant known for its female staff’s skimpy uniforms. The project started life as a special entitled The Dessert Presents: St. Bulges Day, which premiered on Crave. It was also released by co-creator Shane Cunningham of Platonic Friends on YouTube, where it generated 100,000 views in 48 hours. Many of the comments suggested it should be a series, so the team went on to create a further eight 30-minute episodes. These are

The deal will see the show, a mystical time-travelling adventure based on the original The Librarians series, debut on multiple television and streaming services across Central Europe including Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia. Announcing the deal, Electric Entertainment senior VP of international distribution and co-production Nolan Pielak said: “We’ve had a long-standing partnership with AMC Global Media Central Europe, and we’re excited to continue expanding that relationship into new territories and markets around the world. “We’re proud to see the universal appeal of our programming reach new audiences globally, and are excited about the continued expansion of our international footprint.”

now being showcased at MIPCOM by Sphere Abacus, the international distribution arm of Sphere Media, which is majority owned by Bell Media. Bulges is produced by LaRue Entertainment and Platonic Friends. Cunningham said he reached out to Gosselaar’s team in the wake of the special’s success to see if he was interested in committing to a series. Gosselaar agreed after learning more about his character’s backstory. He plays a former star-employee who is attempting to rebuild his life and reclaim his place at a struggling family restaurant after a spell in prison. But that involves navigating family tensions — and taking on the restaurant’s crosstown rivals, Dick’s Wings. When asked about developing TV in the new video landscape, Cunningham pointed to low-budget movie hits Obsession and Backrooms. “Scrappiness is what people are after right now — and Canadians are particularly scrappy because we come from this place where budgets are relatively low,” he said. “There’s a demand for these handmade, very personal stories.” When asked about the online chatter about his abs, San Diego-based Gosselaar said: “The abs are fake but the bulge is real.”

Passport Properties’ Bill Nash

MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

The Librarians (Electric Entertainment)

app ElectricNOW en Español and FAST channel ElectricNOW, thanks to launches on Canela.TV and Nuestra.TV. The agreement means more than 1,000 hours will be available. ElectricNOW director of Streaming & Content Operations Michael Johnson said: “Since ElectricNOW en Español’s launch three years ago we’ve seen incredible growth and demand for Spanish-language content, on our app and channel, as well as from platform partners looking to expand their offerings. Also announced at MIPCOM is a deal between Electric Entertainment and AMC Global Media Central Europe that will take Electric’s popular series The Librarians: The Next Chapter to multiple territories across Central Europe.

BUBLÉ & SCOTT TAKE A GIANT LEAP INTO DOC

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Electric’s Spanish-language service expands US reach

AMAZON Prime Video is preparing to launch Hometown Giants, a six-part sports docu-series featuring Canadian singer Michael Bublé and television personality Drew Scott, known for his hit property series Property Brothers. The series, premiering in 240+ countries and territories, follows the duo as part-owners of the Vancouver Giants, a Canadian major junior ice-hockey team. Produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment in association with Amazon MGM Studios, Hometown Giants follows the franchise through its 2025-2026 season as its owners attempt to revive the team’s fortunes, combining behind-the-scenes access to the club’s management, including coaching appointments, player trades and strategic decisions, with the personal stories of young players hoping to progress to North America’s NHL. Scott said the project reflected his longstanding connection to Vancouver. “It’s my hometown and it holds a very special place in my heart. It’s always been a dream to be part of a sports franchise, and joining Michael in the Giants ownership group was a chance to go back to our roots and support the community that shaped us.” The launch comes amid continuing interest in sports docs and sports-adjacent entertainment, with streamers increasingly looking beyond live rights to access-driven shows. For Prime Video, Hometown Giants complements its growing investment in live sports, including basketball and ice-hockey rights. 31

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Wednesday 14 Oct. 2026

Programme as of 5 October 2026

MARKET OPEN FROM 08:30 TO 19:00 - CLOSES AT 16:00 ON THURSDAY - Palais des Festivals, Cannes GRAND AUDITORIUM

MIP CREATIVE HUB

MIP INNOVATION LAB

HI5 STUDIO

10:00 - 10:25 Creators Connect 10:30 - 11:00 MIP Headliner

The Whole Consumer: Following Audience From the Couch to the Loo Evan Shapiro, Media Cartographer, ESHAP 11:00 - 11:30 MIP Headliner

PIVOT! Why Every Entertainment Company Needs a Vertical Strategy

Anatolii Kasianov, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Holywater Tech Tanya Cohen, Co-CEO, Made By Us Studios Sammie Hao, Head of Talent and Business Development, Crazy Maple Studio

Chain Creation: The New France Televisions Incubator

NETWORKING EVENTS & MATCHMAKING

09:00 - 10:15 Verrière Grand Auditorium

09:15 - 09:45

NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group Opens Doors

SCREENINGS & SHOWCASES

09:30 - 10:10 MIP AI Entertainment Forum

09:30 - 09:50 From Archive to Audience: How Leading Media Companies Activate their IP Presented by Moments Lab

09:30 - 10:00 YouTube Workshop

The Funding Revolution: Diversifying Revenue For YouTube Production

Global Microdrama & Vertical Leaders Summit By Invitation

09:50 - 10:10 From Metadata to Money: How AI Is Unlocking the Value of Your Library Presented by Social Department

11:00 - 11:30

MIPCOM Recognition for SDG Impact In partnership with United Nations

11:40 - 12:10 The Power Brokers: Inside

the Business of Creatorled Entertainment 12:20 - 13:00

State of the Factual Nation

11:15 - 12:30 Verriere Grand Auditorium

11:45 - 12:45 MIP AI Entertainment Forum

11:45 - 12:05 AI: The Evolving Production Landscape Presented by Ampere Analysis

11:45 - 12:45 Matchmaking Area in Palais -1

12:05 - 12:25 From Content to Cash: Reimagining Entertainment in the Age of AI Presented by Huanyu Entertainment

Speed Matchmaking Session: Vertical & Microdrama Pre-registration Required

12:25 - 12:45 Empowering Creators: AI-Assisted Long-Form Production and Localization with MOMOKO Presented by One One One One Limited

13:15 - 14:00

Fresh TV Fiction

Presented by The WIT

14:00 - 14:30 Beyond the Gold Rush:

14:30 - 15:00 Creators Connect

From Multi-Platform Success to FAST: Fearne Cotton x Samsung TV Plus

What’s Next in Vertical Storytelling? 14:45 - 15:15

Winning Subscribers, then Earning the Renewal: An Operator’s-Eye View

15:15 - 15:50

Creators Connect: Vertical Originals 16:00 - 16:30 MIP Headliner

Building Fan Culture Together

15:20 - 15:45

Beyond the Platform: Building Global Audiences in a Fragmented World In Conversation with BBC Studios & Globo

Dennis Papirowski, Global Head of Content, TikTok

16:45 - 17:15 17:00 - 18:00

Happy Hour Hosted by TikTok Media Partner Tubefilter

MIPCOM CANNES Programme Partners

The Media Odyssey Podcast Live: The Hallmark of Greatness

In Conversation with Hallmark

International Mentoring & Networking Event for Women in Entertainment In Partnership with MediaClub’Elles Pre-registration Required

14:15 - 15:00 YouTube Workshop

Capturing the Modern Fan: The Multi-Layered Distribution of Sports Media

14:30 - 15:30 Verrière Grand Auditorium

DOC + FACTUAL Roundtables Pre-registration Required

DAILY 3 MIPCOM CANNES | NEWS

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One last OM_page2 appointment with Doctor Foster

UDITORIUM

T Thursda Suranne Jones

Bartlett said having a time jump has really helped the story. “Tom, the son, THE BBC’s landmark psychological thriller Doctor Foster is making its was 15. We are now 10 years later, and he’s grown up and the actor’s grown highly anticipated return with Suranne Jones reprising her role as Gemup. He’s now a 24-year-old man. The third season is about how Gemma’s ma Foster, alongside returning co-stars Bertie Carvel and Tom Taylor. story is going to end. And we all wanted to find out. So I think it’s wonderNearly a decade after its first two-season run — which spawned global ful to have the opportunity to do that.” format adaptations in 15 territories — UK production company Drama Ten years on and the TV landscape has changed as well; Jude Liknaitzky Republic has reunited with series creator Mike Bartlett for a five-part co-CEO of Drama Republic said that while the series has been moderfinal instalment. nised in some ways, it has always functioned well on streamers. “It’s got Speaking to MIPCOM News, Jones said after years of not thinking about these huge hooks, and that’s something that we love about the show. it, she received a call from the producers asking whether she would ever When we’re in the edit we’re really conscious of the end of the episode go back to do Doctor Foster, and she instinctively said yes. “I think it’s and making sure people have to come back and see the next one.” because of myGRAND own son. So I have a 10-year-old — who was then an eightMIP INNOVATION LAB AUDITORIUM GRAND AUDITORIUM MIP CREATIVE HUB MIP CREATIVE HUB Roanna Benn, co-CEO of Drama Republic, added that the show’s internayear-old. And just in that moment, I felt very connected to what the chational appeal is down to its universal themes around marriage and relaracters did to their child. And so maybe I needed the space as an actor and tionships. “It could happen anywhere, in any culture,” she said. The show someone who now had more maternal experience,” she said. “Something became the highest-rated scripted drama in South Korean cable TV histomade me want to do it at that exact moment.” ry under the title The World Of The Married. Returning after almost a decade could have been a challenge, but Mike

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