After a subdued MIPTV, MIPCOM was as buzzy and frenzied as ever reflecting the busier fall period for launches of new and returning dramas and continued growth, both in content and online platforms. More than 25 world distributors of Nordic dramas were in Cannes, competing for world buyers’ attention and cash.
Two Scandi premium dramas selected for MIPCOM Screenings and attended by key cast and crew, stood out on the market:
Other new Nordic dramas that premiered at MIPCOM include:
Another Nordic high point at MIPCOM was the Finnish Weird focus on Tuesday, co-organised by Audiovisual Producers Finland and Business Finland. The event was an opportunity for Finnish producers, sales agents or broadcasters to introduced 10 brand new and upcoming Finnish shows – most of them in the crime genre - to more than a hundred TV delegates. The new Finnish shows were:
“There is a significant increase in buyers’ interest towards Finnish drama who say Finland is the most interesting Nordic country for the moment in terms of new projects, where production value has greatly increased,” said Yle Sales Head of Sales Jukka Kaivola.
MIPCOM deals
Market trends
Commenting on trends, Banijay’s Caroline Torrance said: “It’s certainly more complicated today in terms of windowing and rights negotiations, but there are more opportunities for everyone. In the pre-digital age, you had one sale opportunity and that was it. Now, you have 2-3 windows where you can exploit a title in a short period of time.”
Studiocanal’s Françoise Guyonnet also said: “It's a rich eco-system today in terms of platforms and opportunities. The key is to find the best commercial strategy for each project. Our strategy at Studiocanal is to ramp up our co-productions and partnerships across Europe, to work with the best talents and to increase our financial commitments,” she stressed.
With the tighter pressure from buyers to grab the best shows, many are starting discussions at an earlier stage. "Negotiations start earlier today, but buyers still want to see the final product before committing, especially with non-English language," noted Guyonnet.
The new kid in town REinvent Studios who attended MIPCOM with 8 titles in development out of 10 on its slate, was overwhelmed by the attention from global distributors.
Another global distributor – who asked to remain anonymous – questioned the risk of over-supply on the market and said he had witnessed a temporary ‘slowing down of demand for Nordic content, over the last year, due to foreign broadcasters and streaming services’ strategy to concentrate on local originals. A slowing down however compensated by a dynamic market for scripted format.
All distributors interviewed stressed buyers’ appetite for existing quality stories with remake potential. About Premium Content’s co-founder Laurent Boissel cited Valkyrien turned into the English language Temple, starring Mark Strong and said he was in negotiations for a US remake of the Norwegian series Young & Promising. Caroline Torrance said ‘any scripted content with a strong concept’ is of interest for local reformatting. Banijay’s executive said Solsidan, remade in France is in negotiations for the US, while Black Lake is being considered in various territories. DR Sales’ Maiken Maigaard said NRK’s hit drama Home Ground had been optioned for a French remake.
Commenting on the overall MIPCOM, Jerome Delhaye, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Entertainment Division said: “There are new dynamics within the entertainment industry and the good news is that more people are watching more content for more time, on more devices, than ever before. The debate now is how companies will compete or work together to get the right content to the right viewer.”
A total of 13,800 delegates including over 4,800 buyers from more than 100 countries attended MIPCOM 2018. The country of honour was China.