MIPCOM: Mega streamers unveil local content-driven strategies at post-pandemic market

Very much like the Cannes Film Festival, the post-pandemic Mipcom TV market (October 11-14) which welcomed back content executives after more than a year-and-a-half of online only deal-making, was a quiet and unusual event - like a recovering patient.

The hybrid TV market was attended on-site mostly by Europeans, many of whom seemed to prefer the sunny café terraces outside the Palais to the sparse corridors of the exhibition space, restricted to the upper floors of the Palais, and the Riviera 7 and 8.

While some attendees were taken aback by the ‘half-baked’ event, many exhibitors interviews enjoyed the quieter market which gave space to more quality time with clients. According to RX France’s Lucy Smith, Mipcom and MipJunior director, the fall market hosted around 4,500 physical delegates (against 13,500 in pre-pandemic time), and around 145 exhibitors from 38 countries, against 2,000+ exhibitors from more than 110 countries in 2019.

For physical absentees, the Mipcom digital market option available until November 30, was a welcome option and some global distributors such as DR Sales, chose to split their sales force online/onsite to cut costs, and spread their online meetings across two full weeks. Others such as About Premium Content, chose to fully concentrate their sales effort on face-to-face meetings during the three day-Mipcom and to continue negotiations online this upcoming week.

But the overriding feeling was one of pure joy to be back physically to do business and many attendees said key European buyers and financiers were on hand.

New Global Streamers
Many top global executives and media analysts were invited to take centre stage to discuss market trends and issues shaking the global content audiovisual industry, from representation, consolidation to the streaming frenzy, as the war of the VOD titans is just kicking off.

Four mega streamers set to expand their global footprint between 2021-2022, were invited to discuss their strategies at ‘Global Streaming Keynote’ Sessions, and all reiterated their appetite for local fare.

Pluto TV’s Olivier Jollet, SVP and general manager, underlined the uniqueness of the pioneering FAST player or linear free ad-supported streaming service, owned by ViacomCBS. The service is now available in 25 countries and about to launch October 28 in Italy, with further rollouts expected in other EU countries, Asia and Africa.

More than 52 million active monthly customers use the service, offering curated channels, via partnerships with brand partners, from BBC Studios to ZDFE. “We want local flavour and have teams curating different channels for local audiences in each territory, offering a mix of international and local content,” said Jollet for whom “content remains king”.

discovery+’s Myriam Lopez-Otazu, Group VP Content & Acquisitions EMEA and APAC, said her streaming service offers 50,000 hours of content, both global and local, with in-house slates being complemented by ad-hoc acquisitions. “We localise acquisitions and do local versions as well,” she said.

At Mipcom, Lopez-Otazu said she was looking for “anything distinctive, bold content to drive conversations”. She underlined the importance of Europe - the group’s biggest market with 90 million subscribers. “Our focus now is to nurture relations, sustain consumer growth and explore how to elevate stories to make them travel,” she said, underlying discovery+’s equal appetite for scripted/non-scripted and foreign language.

The TV executive cited the Norwegian documentary Estonia: The Find That Changes Everything (Monster) as the type of quality content “that has a huge impact and is able to transcend national borders.”

Regarding Paramount+, Viacom CBS’s SVP of Content Strategy and Acquisitions Doug Craig, said the streamer is available in 25 countries and will expand into 45 additional markets in 2022. He explained that with the US streamer’s global roll out, Viacom CBS has had to ‘repatriate content that was handled by international partners, in order to “leverage their brands” to themselves, rather than sell out IP rights”.

Clarifying the difference between Paramount+ and Comcast and ViacomCBS’s recent joint streaming service SkyShowtime, due to roll out in 20+ European markets in 2022 - including the Nordics - Craig said due to scale, ViacomCBS opted for a partnership with Sky on 20 smaller European territories, but the US group will look at Europe “via the lens of Paramount+ in 2022.” He confirmed that both services will cover different territories and that there won’t be any overlap between them.

Regarding content, Craig said that amid the pandemic gloom, one positive element was the ability of TV shows to cross borders and due to production difficulties in some areas, broadcasters had increased foreign acquisitions. “At ViacomCBS, we are starting to commission local originals, whereas 2-3 years ago, we would probably have done local versions of ready-mades,” he said, stressing that “the foreign-language barriers have now been broken down via dubbing and subtitling”, as audiences are craving for more.

Craig also mentioned that Viacom International Studios (VIS) is now producing in 25 countries and in an expansion spree. The content creation studio focuses on local markets’ needs and is eager to work with indie producers. “We want to work with third party producers, as we believe in a diversified approach. Diversity of content is crucial”, he underscored.

Meanwhile Nent Group’s Viaplay Filippa Wallestam, EVP & Chief Content Officer highlighted the Nordic group’s ambition to create around 50 originals in 2021 and up to 60 in 2022. She said the current Swedish output is fine, but Viaplay will probably increase its orders in Denmark and Norway next year, with further commissioning lined up in new markets after 2022 and in English-language productions. The next footprint expansion will be in Poland, followed by the Netherlands and the UK in 2022, and Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada in 2023.

Explaining Nent Group’s roll out strategy, she said that for the larger markets, the group will acquire sports rights as an entry ticket, with the ambition to expand beyond sports, into local scripted content. “We have learnt how key local stuff is for standing out, getting engaged,” she said. For other markets, Nent will focus on the best of the Nordics, by offering a type of “BritBox for Nordic content”. “We are Nordic at heart, global in mind,” she stated.

Nent Group’s success story was also highlighted through the special Variety Vanguard Award, handed out to the group’s president and CEO Anders Jensen on October 11.

“Nordic Entertainment Group is among the most dynamic media companies in Europe and its success is helping to drive the growth of the global content marketplace,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety’s president and group publisher.

Other personalities celebrated at Mipcom include actor Riz Ahmed, recipient of the Variety Creative Change Award, while the Mipcom Diversity Excellence Awards were handed out to the following top shows:

• It’s a Sin-Best (Channel 4, UK) - Best LGBTQIA+ Scripted
• Shine Through (Out TV/Fuse Media, Canada) - Best LGBTQIA+ Unscripted
• Dreaming Whilst Black (BBC iPLayer, UK) - Best Race & Ethnicity Scripted
• The Money Maker (Channel 4, UK) - Best Race & Ethnicity Unscripted
• Special Honours, Welcome to Adulthood (TF1, France) - Best Disability Scripted
• Summer in Lockdown (Film 4, UK) - Best Disability Unscripted
• 16 Hudson-Best (TVO, Canada) - Best pre-school
• FYI’s Kidversation (Sky News/Kids Nes-, UK) - Best Kids Older Children

The next TV content market in Cannes - MIPTV is due to unspool April 4-6, 2022.​