Mip London will not be a “rival” event to the London TV Screenings, assured Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom Cannes and incoming Mip London.
“We will be very respectful of what they have already planned. They have grown into a great event,” she said, promising “intelligent planning” from Mip London to “ensure we are not completely in competition with other major events.”
“It’s not a rival event. The first people we spoke to over a year ago were the founders of the London TV Screenings. We consulted them. They understand the business reasons for doing it.”
Mip London, described as a new ‘multi-genre, international content and networking market’, will take place from 23 to 27 February 2025. The London TV Screenings will air from 23 to 28 February.
“We’re not just bringing more showings to the same number of buyers out there. Our goal is to create an additional, new international marketplace. We believe there will be more buyers in London,” Smith added, discussing some of the industry concerns during a panel at Mipcom.
“Let’s be honest: London in February has become the biggest content week of the first quarter [of the year]. We believe that in addition to the existing screenings, there is so much more potential – and business – possible. Mip London has a clear intention: to open an international marketplace for everyone.”
The new event will also not replace MipTV, she emphasized while discussing potential customers’ financial concerns.
“The cost impact, we understand it. But we want to be clear about the fact that it is not comparable. We didn’t move MipTV to London. This is a new conference networking and screening event with an international marketplace,” she noted.
“We create more business, more companies, more opportunities. We believe the value is there.”
As of today, more than 250 companies have registered for the event.
“What is clear is that there is still a need for a market at the beginning of the year. We don’t see Mip London as an ‘either-or’; we are working to attract additional buyers and focus on currently underserved areas such as unscripted or FAST. Again, it’s about more people doing more business.”
Although the decision to keep MipTV, which previously took place in April, was not easy – “There was a decrease in the number of companies [attending] and we felt the time has come to make a radical change” – Smith hopes to provide attendees with a new “central hub” and program highlights such as FAST and Global Summit, YouTube Deep Dive and Fresh TV from The Wit, or even a new co-production summit dedicated to children’s content, supported by the BBC and Sky.
“It’s the first year and we understand that change is always a challenge. But overall we listened. As with any Mip market, we know how to create and market a world-class marketplace,” she said, teasing “more content, more deals and more networking.”
“We are in the era of the ‘Co’s’. We talk about co-exclusivity, co-branding, collaboration and collective,” she noted, highlighting other themes from profiling new top buyers and new exporters to exploring brand partnerships, AI production tools, IPS that cross genres and AVOD as “the next format nursery. .”
“Our only goal is to attract more international content companies and encourage more business during that week.”