NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF
CO-PRODUCTION MARKETPLACE THE MIPDOC Commissioners’ Meet-Up, part of the MIPDoc Co-production Marketplace, is a four-part event held from 09.00 on Sunday, April 6 in the MIPDoc Conference Room at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez. During the sessions commissioners from around the world will meet the producers of what they believe to be the most promising projects in development, selected from around 150 entries. Also under the Co-production Marketplace banner during MIPDoc: The Commissioning Editors’ Conversation at 10.45; the MIPDoc International Pitch at 14.45; and Success Stories From Israel at 17.10, all in the MIPDoc Conference Room on Saturday, April 5.
NETWORKING AT MIPDOC AMONG the weekend’s many networking opportunities, the MIPDoc Networking Lunch at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez Beach, on Saturday, April 5, is the official opening lunch for all MIPDoc delegates. The lunch is sponsored by China’s CCTV Documentary Channel. On the same day, and at the same venue, MIPDoc delegates meet MIPFormats delegates at the MIPDoc & MIPFormats Opening Cocktail, the beachside Cantina Party, an opportunity to network to the sounds and flavours of Mexico, MIPCOM 2014’s Country Of Honour. The party is sponsored by ProMexico.
NEW-LOOK SCREENINGS SERVICE THE MIPDOC screenings service has new features for 2014. Companies can now upload online — no more DVDs. Plus, buyers can log on with their badges and can message sellers in real time. All delegates now receive a daily email summary of the day’s screenings. With over 400 buyers from 60 countries attending to screen over 1,400 titles, MIPDoc is the biggest international digital screenings venue for documentary and factual programmes. 6I
Viewers in suspense as Discovery announces new channel rollout
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the dramas of everyday people ISCOVERY Networks’ behaving badly,” Welling said. Paul Welling gives a “With drama this real ID Xtra MIPDoc keynote on keeps you on the edge of your Sunday, April 6 at 11.30 in the seat, making you look closer as MIPDoc Conference Room in the mystery unravels.” the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Welling said the channel already Martinez. has a track record. “In the US T he head of channels for ID is the fastest growing pay-TV CEEMEA will talk about the network, and since its launch in launch of ID Xtra, a brand new Poland in September 2012 it has channel rolling out across the rebecome the Nº1 mystery and gion. He will also examine the suspense channel, the fastest increased popularity in the mysgrowing channel in Discovery’s tery and suspense genres which feature strongly in the ID Xtra Paul Welling: immersive real-life mysteries portfolio and it has an average viewing time of 51 minutes — schedules. ID Xtra is available across Central and Eastern one of the longest among cable and satellite Europe, Middle East and Africa from April channels.” 1, 2014. “Through our unrivaled storytelling Recent new channel launches by Discovery inand presented in a unique contemporary and clude women-skewed TLC. “Following its instylish format, our immersive real-life myster- ternational debut in 2011, TLC has become ies and gripping suspense programming de- the fastest and most distributed entertainment livers everything from salacious scandals to channel for women in the world,” he said.
Factual no longer ‘worthy but dull’ We have great momentum in DEAN Possenniskie, managing diEurope and introduced three rector, Europe for A+E Networks of our brands, Lifetime, H2 gives a MIPDoc keynote speech at and A&E, into the region for 15.10 on MIPDOc’s Digital Sunday, the first time in 2013. Watch focusing on how to achieve growth this space as we continue to through original content, and disgrow our local channel portcussing his view that factual profolios in Europe and expand gramming has finally shrugged off our audiences.” its ‘worthy but dull’ image with some Docudramas have revolugenuine blockbusters. The speech is tionised people’s perceptions in the MIPDoc Conference Room in of factual TV over the last the Martinez. five years, with the History “A+E Networks is a global leader in the creation and ownership of Dean Possenniskie, managing director, Channel at the forefront of this trend. “We have worked original, innovative, unscripted pro- Europe for A+E Networks closely with our production gramming and formats, and currently we’re seeing viewers across Europe tun- partners to push the boundary of traditional factual programmes into the realm of ‘muscular’ ing in to franchises such as Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, Crime 360, and Duck Dynasty,” he said. documentaries that successfully employ cutting“We are moving to expand our formats with lo- edge graphics and effects, and feature film qualcal productions of shows such as Pawn Stars, ity scripting, casting and camerawork on proAmerican Pickers, Dance Moms and Shipping grammes such as The Men Who Built America; Wars, and A+E Networks now has six unique Mankind: The Story Of All of Us; and our upchannel brands in Europe fuelled by this excep- coming special, World Wars. And, viewers have tional content, along with an increasing slate responded to these new techniques driving up of original commissions from our local teams. ratings for our channels worldwide,” he said.
preview magazine I March 2014 I www.mipdoc.com