MIPCOM 2003 Recap
As the plane touched down in London on the first leg of the journey to MIPCOM Jr. and MIPCOM, I wondered what, if any would be the big breaking news as thousands of TV buyers, distributors and producers face their Mecca for TV decision-making. It’s at this market, held Oct. 7-15, 2003 in Cannes, that TV industry professionals determine what will be seen on broadcast channels around the world now and in the next few seasons to come, as a small troupe of seasoned journalists observe, record and report the pros’ actions and try to sniff out the trends.
Was the market recovering from 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, SARs scares, merger madness, depressed advertising revenues and falling licensing fees? Would reality shows and live kids shows still reign over animation as it had the past couple years? Where had familiar faces moved on to, who had become the leading players and who were the new ones to get to know. And, most importantly, what color would kids TV exec Joan Lofts’ hair be?
It seemed the most important breaking animation news sprung just before the mart was that the revved up French Antefilms had purchased its much older and established competitor, France Animation. Surely that would be a hot topic of discussion to start with, sprinkled with speculation over what Haim Saban might be up to with his takeover of German broadcaster ProSiebenSat1.
Wrong. The tone and topic came over the plane’s loudspeaker as the pilot told the passengers arriving on the 12-hour flight from Los Angeles that movie star/muscle builder Arnold Schwarzenegger had been elected governor of California! There was an audible grown, followed by snickers, and I sank into my seat, wishing it just been a dream. For the next few days, I and other Americans, especially Californians, were subjected to a raft of teasing, prodding and, at times, displays of incredulous disbelief from airline ticket takers, taxi drivers, restaurant and hotel personnel, as well as from MIPCOM attendees, exhibitors and international press.
Arriving a bit late to the annual Super RTL annual MIPCOM dinner for studio chiefs and press the first night, I was pressed with questions and comments about the California election. It’s a bit odd to have the tables turned; normally the reporter does the digging. Actually, people across the continent, in the U.K. and Ireland paid much closer attention to this election of a European native. Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, dominated German television for two days.
Nearly every business meeting, at least for this Californian, started with probes about the “governator,” and it certainly was hotly debated by some Americans around the Martinez Hotel bar and pool terrace, which is always the hotbed of MIPCOM Jr. and evening MIPCOM action. I wonder if my predecessors got this much grief about Reagan, after his state or national elections, from those engaged in a business dependent to a good extent upon actors. If actors are vital to and help drive an industry, are they any less viable for pubic service?
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