Videoage International August-September 2021

I N T E R N A T I O N A L www.V i deoAge.or g THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION August/September 2021 - VOL. 41 NO. 4 - $9.75 ???? (Continued on Page 23) T hat MIPCOM 2021 was going to be an in-person event was announced by Reed MIDEM as early as December 2020. At that time the pandemic was raging with no end in sight, and all TV trade events were being held virtually. The decision to hold the 2021 affair in person was a pragmatic one since imminent rescue by a vaccine was already being envisioned. It was also financial since no one expected virtual markets to actually make money. Weirdly though, the virtual edition of NATPE Miami 2021 actually made lots of money. In the intervening months, the SeriesMania’s Back In Lille, In Person, InAction My 2¢: Confusion over the years. It’s been 41, but it feels like 14 Airlines resuming flights, crazy people flying high The good and the bad: 41 biz years recalled by int’l TV execs Le Rendez-Vous: Still a virtual love affaire with French content Page 26 Page 24 Page 6 Page 4 T his year, Lille, France will welcome the return of an in-person Series Mania International Festival, to be held August 26-September 2, 2021. The festival, which focuses on development, production, and new series, will open with the international premiere of Vigil from BBC One. The festival programming will highlight a slew of new series, with new season premieres of Money Heist, Criminal Games – The 70’s, Mytho , and Les Engages: XAOC. The trade arm of the event, Series Mania Forum, which will be held August 30-September 1, will welcome in-person meetings as well as a conference agenda of Four Decades of Int’l TV Biz Creates a Buzz (Continued on Page 6) Welcoming The Return of In-Person TV Markets I t felt like anything and every- thing that could happen did happen in the international television business between 1981 and 2021. These four decades are now being recounted here through 41 years of VideoAge covers. Each of the four decades re- viewed in this Issue is described with taglines like “1981-1990: The (Continued on Page 2 2) Paris, France-based Reed MIDEM staged four virtual markets (MIP- TV, MIP China, MIPCOM, and MIP Cancun), and changed up its executive roster, with Michel Fizi taking over for Paul Zilk as Reed MIDEM’s CEO, and Lucy Smith assuming the role of TV Director, replacing Laurine Garaude.