By Leah Hochbaum Rosner
As the 45th edition of MIP-TV approaches, TV executives the world over are gearing up for what many term one of the most important television events of the year. Even though MIP, which will be held April 7-11 in Cannes, France, coincides with the end of TV’s annual programming cycle, it nevertheless will be the first big TV occasion of the year, and is expected to draw upwards of 13,000 people.
In the weeks leading up to the market, many important agreements are often finalized. Last week, Munich-based Studio 100 Media announced that it had inked an extensive cooperation deal with EM.Entertainment to distribute EM’s library, which includes such classics as Maya the Bee and Vicky the Viking. VideoAge spoke with Studio 100 general manager Patrick Elmendorff to find out how the TV landscape is looking in Germany, what product his company is bringing to the Palais, and why MIP-TV continues to be a must-attend market.
VideoAge International: What product is Studio 100 Media bringing to MIP-TV?
Patrick Elmendorff: Our main titles are Big & Small [a puppetry show about two differently sized friends], which we’ll be able to deliver in fall 2008. Another property we’re pushing is Balloontoons, a show we picked up from Russia that has some really incredible animation. We also have Butterfly and Beautyfly, Bumba the Clown and more.
VAI: How important is MIP-TV to Studio 100?
PE: MIP-TV and MIPCOM are definitely the most important markets for us. There’s no other place where you can meet with that amount of international producers, co-producers and buyers in one spot. For us, it’s very important that we meet with representatives from Europe, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the U.K. Eastern Europe and Asia have also become important. MIP and MIPCOM are the only places with a large amount of buyers on that sort of international scale.
VAI: How’s the domestic market in Germany doing?
PE: It’s doing fine. But it’s a very competitive market. There are two other big players in the region who are also buying kids programs, Nick Germany and Kinderkanal. But overall, the market’s doing well.
VAI: Will you be attending any of the sessions offered by Reed Midem at MIP-TV?
PE: No. It’s a shame, but we’re meeting with this huge amount of buyers, so it’s very difficult to make time for anything else. We already have problems finding slots to see everybody we’d like to meet with, so we simply cannot find the time for any of the panels. If I were to suddenly find myself with a free moment, though, I’d like to attend sessions about co-production and co-financing.
VAI: What are you most looking forward to at MIP-TV?
PE: We’re interested in meeting co-financing and co-producing partners for our projects, as well as introducing the market to our new animation projects. Our main focus is the distribution of our new properties and those in our library.
