EVENTS / CONTENTS
The international market for the distribution and development of 2020 content, edition # 57 and which was scheduled to take place between March 30 and April 2, at the Paláis des Festival, in Cannes, has been canceled by the Coronavirus.
“We regret to announce that due to concerns related to coronavirus (Covid-19), MIPTV, MIPDoc and MIPFormats 2020 have been cancelled” explains Paul Zilk, Chief Executive of Reed MIDEM, organizing group of the event who also reported that season 3 of CANNESERIES, the Cannes International Series Festival, have been postponed for October 9-14, in the framework of MIPCOM 2020.
“In the current context, many of our clients have expressed concerns about traveling at this time. Reprogramming MIPTV for the coming months is not feasible, so it is most appropriate to cancel MIPTV and organize the next edition of MIPTV from April 12 to 15, 2021, with MIPDoc and MIPFormats scheduled for April 10 and 11. Season 4 of CANNESERIES will take place in April 2021 during MIPTV,” he said and also assured that “The well-being of our customers, partners and staff is a priority. We thank customers for their support and constructive comments during this difficult period. We look forward to welcoming everyone at MIPCOM from October 12 to 15 and we are pleased that Canneseries will be with us again this year.”
And it is that when on February 29, the French Government announced the ban on events with more than 5,000 people in an enclosed compound and some big acts outdoors as a precaution against the advance of the coronavirus, MIPTV 2020 remained up in the air. Last year, the event convened about 9,000 delegates from 100 countries. And that was one of its weakest editions with a notorious decrease in participants and an absence practically from Latin American countries.
In this way, Covid-19 has put a brake on one of the largest markets for the development and distribution of television content. It should be highlited that beyond the reasonable concern and following the instructions of the government, for this edition, South Korea was the Country of Honor in this MIPTV; a territory in which the cases of coronavirus are alarming. The implication of being the Country of Honor in the market means that in addition to carrying out various activities around the industry of the invited territory, the number of delegates from the designated country is always higher than in the rest of the countries.