MIPCOM Jr. segues into MIPCOM, which is super-adept at attracting and programming for both the West and the East. © MIPCOM.

It could be that in the next 25 years or so, we'll finally be able to beam ourselves around the world, to the next market or festival we think we should be attending. But while I wait for Second Life markets to begin, I and my fellow traditional media-market shleppers are like concentric groups following a traveling circus. Making deals is an ongoing process and, each year, we keep hopping and whirling around different venues in faraway lands. Buyers, producers and sellers, we're all jazzed and dazed at the same time, seeing the same faces two, three or even more times a year.

I've decided to survive by picking a genre that clearly defines and narrows down what is a Must-Attend for me, and what's OK to skip. After nearly 15 (gulp!) years in the film side of the Business as a live-action (real movies) sales agent/distributor, I finally chose animation (finally found my One True Love in the media biz) about seven years ago. Big-name movie stars never wowed me, yet it was exciting to be part of a sales company that distributed Cannes Festival winners and to have Bob and Harvey (yes, both!) attend our festival/market cocktail parties.

But ever since I made the Big Change, I've been soooooooo happy. Now I am gleefully amongst the ranks of the meek who should inherit the earth (some have already started that inheritance--think Pixar). Albeit a nano-bit smaller, my company's making respectable headway on behalf of a wide range of indies like Bill Plympton and corporate powerhouses of animation-generation, such as Jetix Europe.

Here then is a glimpse into the (exciting) world of licensing, distribution and financing/packaging.

While in Cannes...
MIPCOM Junior and MIPCOM (October 7, 8 and 9, 10, 11 and 12)
The "Junior" part of this fall market means two things: it's very tiny when compared to the grandpappy bear called MIPCOM (about 1,000 Juniors, versus about 12,000+ MIPCOM-ers), and it's the microcosmic universe dedicated to kids programming. There are constant meetings, running-intos, and a very well-organized screening library with movies, episodes, shorts -- an incredible range of (mostly) animation content from all corners.

The smartest television buyers (or those with '07 budgets still left to spend) hide out and do intense, focused work, which benefits them multiple ways, since they have a great reason for dodging sellers and producers who'd rather talk to them about their shows than let them simply watch and then pursue the seller. But be prepared, the show concept/series alone may not be enough, they'll want to know all about your cross-platform plans and interactive elements, how will the audience participate, and some networks want you to give them your show for no license fee and want to participate in the Merchandising and Licensing Revenues too. So, yes, the 50+ screening cubicles alone don't a MIPCOM Junior make. And, to be fair, 99.98% of the buyers sincerely care first and foremost about the quality of the program and how well it entertains and engages -- you're in the finalist category when and if they start asking about the topic of revenue-sharing.

If it's mid-September, it must be Ottawa. Veteran festival and marketing attendees squeeze it in between MIPCOM and AFM. Courtesy of Jon Hofferman.

The Junior temporary compound is set up at the tres chic Carlton Hotel in Cannes, where there are guarded coffee areas and where our badges allow us to enter the sessions where senior executives and a few wealthy independents entertain and enlighten the Junior participants. The Junior setting is rife with opportunities to further coproduction discussions or deals that could have started elsewhere in France (i.e., Annecy) in June this year, or even earlier, in Cannes at MIPTV, in April.

Yes, there are a lot of steps and months from pitch to signed deal, and everybody in the kids' business side of this business should be honored annually with statuettes for their tenacity. (I remember when Brian Lacey first told me it took him three years of pushing Pokemon until it became an overnight success -- who knew Brian recieved multiple rejections from major broadcasters until the ratings country-by-country started to swell out of control?)

The Main Market: MIPCOM Junior Segues into MIPCOM
MIPCOM's Reed Midem Organization has become super-adept at attracting and programming (and securing advertising and booth rental dollars from) the West, and now the East is coming onto our industry's center stage as well, with "Focus on India" and more sessions/events, cocktails, lunches, etc. And there are new ceremonies about fun New Media and Digital Content, with newly created awards (Mobile Content Awards MIPCOM for the second year). We're all excited about the New Media this time around, since the first Internet boom came too early. So now is the right time to award excellence in digital/mobile content.

Mainstream traditional media and distribution have always morphed. The stronger global markets push us and pull us with their own programming content. Mobile, interactive, social-networking, virtual worlds, the new celebrity is ubiquity and both MIPCOMs got more-than-it-all goin' on!