CANNES — British comedian Sir Lenny Henry brought his “one big idea” to MIPCOM Wednesday. The 59-year-old actor, singer and Comic Relief co-founder was asked to give a keynote on diversity and he pushed a very intriguing notion: provide tax breaks tied to diversity. Henry told how, when he first arrived at BBC, the network… Read on
CANNES — Forget all that stuff about Peak TV and the new “Golden Age.” Every year at MIPCOM, the heap of content on display during the international TV market is staggering. As it says on an enormous poster on the side of one of the 200-foot yachts out in the harbor, “Content is king. Distribution is… Read on
CANNES — Want to get your series streamed before two billion subscribers? Now you can, thanks to Facebook. The social media giant was represented earlier this week at MIPCOM by two dudes without socks: Ricky Van Veen, head of Global Creative Strategy, and Daniel Danker, Director of Video Product. Six weeks ago, they helped launch Facebook’s… Read on
CANNES — Caught up with the star of Caught — Allan Hawco — Tuesday at MIPCOM. He was at the swank, seaside, eOne booth to help promote his upcoming CBC action series, penciled in for the post Winter Olympic Games – pre-hockey playoffs slot in 2018. The five episode Caught has the former Republic of… Read on
CANNES — Richard Plepler just looks like money. He always appears as if he just stepped off one of the 200-foot yachts docked in the harbour surrounding the main pavilion here at MIPCOM. He looks like Thurston Howell the Fourth or Fifth. HBO’s Chairman and CEO was presented with the “Hey, he showed up” award Monday… Read on
CANNES — You didn’t need Detective Murdoch to solve this mystery — Christina Jennings was just honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. It happened Sunday night at the Content Innovation Awards, held each year as part of the international television marketplace MIPCOM. The Shaftesbury chairman and CEO was recognized for staying out front in the increasingly disruptive… Read on
CANNES — Andy Yeatman, Netflix’s head of Global Kids Content and 2017 MIP Junior keynote speaker, was asked how he limited the amount of television he allows his three young daughters to watch. Simple, says Yeatman, “They only watch TV on iPads, and we keep them high up out of reach when showtime is over.” Huh.… Read on
CANNES — This town loves it when a former star makes a comeback. Take the latest example — Pingu. The mischievous little penguin, famous for squawking and hooting in his inimitable “Pinguinese,” was a British-Swiss stop-motion sensation that has entertained children and parents since 1986. A world wide hit because a) it never needed to be dubbed or… Read on