Cannes, 8 October 2009 – The mood was upbeat in Cannes this week at the 25th edition of MIPCOM, as executives from the international television, digital, advertising and games industries focussed on deals rather than the global economic crisis.

With Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘The Simpsons’ during MIPCOM, series creator Matt Groening drew a capacity crowd and an unprecedented standing ovation to his keynote discussions with ‘The Simpsons’ executive producer Al Jean and their host/moderator and ‘Super Size Me’ director Morgan Spurlock. Cannes Mayor Bernard Brochand declared Wednesday Simpsons Day in the city and Matt Groening received the inaugural MIPCOM Creative Icon Award the same evening.

Another American comic icon, Jerry Seinfeld, wowed hundreds of international buyers at MIPCOM with a stand-up set and the international unveiling of his new comedy-panel format ‘The Marriage Ref,’ created and executive produced by Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten and distributed by Endemol.

With over 12,000 delegates in Cannes, MIPCOM registered an increase on the 11,500 delegates who attended MIPTV in April. Buyers were also out in force, with over 4,000 in town compared to 3,500 at MIPTV.

“At MIPTV in April, a lot of people were taking stock of the economic crisis and wondering when things would get better,” said Laurine Garaude, acting Television Division Director at Reed MIDEM. “At MIPCOM, conversations have been about re-thinking business strategies. People have been talking about new alliances to finance production, new channel strategies to consolidate their brand position in the international market and how they are thinking about monetizing the multi-platform potential of their content at the start of the creative process.”

In a sign of the changing times, two leaders in their respective industries, Publicis Worldwide Chief Operating Officer Richard Pinder and Hasbro President and CEO Brian Goldner made their first visits to MIPCOM. Richard Pinder openly confessed “I don’t think I know anyone in television,” adding that he planned to change that state of affairs in Cannes. Publicis chose MIPCOM to announce the launch of Publicis Entertainment, a new business division dedicated to bridging the gap between advertising, content creation and distribution. Addressing MIPCOM delegates, Richard Pinder said that for advertising companies and television content creators, “this is the chance to start to get to know each other as industries.”

In May, Brian Goldner announced that Hasbro was partnering with Discovery Communications to launch a children’s channel in 2010. That was followed by news of the creation of Hasbro Studios which is to produce television programming and films for the U.S. and international market as well as on-line and digital. The Hasbro CEO told MIPCOM delegates “the toy business is often seen as flat. But if you look more closely, you’ll find that brands backed by television are still growing fast.”

Fellow toy and games manufacturer Mattel is also fast-tracking its television and multi-platform strategy. On day two of MIPCOM, ITV Studios and Mattel announced that ITV Studios will develop several Mattel board-game brands into international television formats and multi-platform properties.

“A few years ago, eyebrows might have been raised at the idea that Publicis and Hasbro would be represented at MIPCOM and would be so clearly reaching out to the television community. The presence of Richard Pinder and Brian Goldner underlines how much the traditional television market has evolved,” noted Laurine Garaude.

With companies from 103 countries represented at the event, MIPCOM continues to act as an essential and cost-effective platform to reach the international entertainment community. NBC Universal kick-started the market announcing five revamped global channel brands - Universal Channel, 13th Street Universal, Syfy Universal, Diva Universal and Studio Universal - and a new corporate identity. The NBCU Global Networks division was renamed Universal Networks International.

“Universal Networks International is proud to have launched our revitalized portfolio of core brands at MIPCOM,” commented Roma Khanna, President Universal Networks International and Digital Initiatives. “This is a highly effective forum for connecting with so many of our important international partners.”

Starz Media chose MIPCOM to promote its new 13x60 minutes drama series ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand,’ starring Andy Whitfield, John Hannah, Peter Mensah and Lucy Lawless, on the international stage. “‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’ is a series clearly designed for both the domestic and international markets. When you have over 100 countries and 4,000 buyers at MIPCOM, it enables us to reach the international community efficiently, which is what we have done in Cannes this week,” reported Starz Media President and COO, Bill Myers.

Buyers were given the red-carpet treatment as Endemol and Jerry Seinfeld made their first major international promotion of ‘Marriage Ref.’ “The launch of Endemol Worldwide Distribution, our partnership with Jerry Seinfeld for the ‘Marriage Ref’ and the debut of one of our most extensive slates of new shows to date have made this a particularly important market for Endemol,” said Tom Toumazis, Chief Commercial Officer Endemol Group. “It’s been well worth the hard work. When you need to reach the global television community, MIPCOM is the place to be.”

Delegates from several Asian countries appear to agree. The number of Chinese companies in Cannes rose 8% to 66. The 19 Taiwanese companies represented a 35% increased on last year’s MIPCOM and Hong Kong company attendance was up 8%. The Malaysian delegation got a significant boost when Prime Minister Yab Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, on a four-day official visit to France, arrived at MIPCOM to lend his backing to Malaysia’s drive to further develop its creative multimedia industry.

Among a plethora of deal announcements, French pay television Canal Plus and German producer EOS greenlit production on 12-hour English-language series ‘The Borgias,’ scripted by Tom Fontana and executive produced by Chris Albrecht and Anne Thomopoulos. Canal Plus followed that up by acquiring ‘The Prisoner,’ the remake of 1960s British cult series. Co-producers ITV Studios and AMC premiered ‘The Prisoner’ at MIPCOM. FremantleMedia announced the acquisition of original comedy-auction ‘Batsu Bidding,’ from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS). The programme has already successfully aired in Japan.

With the corporate name makeover just announced in Cannes, Universal Networks International inked its first partnership deal with independent distributor E1 Entertainment to co-finance 13x60 minutes suspense thriller ‘Haven,’ based on the Stephen King novella ‘The Colorado Kid.’

Meanwhile Endemol secured its first deals for ‘The Marriage Ref.’ Abu Dhabi Media Company acquired the NBC version of the show and commissioned a local version to be produced by Endemol Middle East. Australia’s Seven Network also acquired the NBC version and commissioned a locally-produced version from Southern Star Entertainment.

One sector of the television business that is in excellent health is the format business. Mid-MIPCOM, the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) presented its latest report on formats covering the period 2006-2008. According to the report, which covers 14 territories, production volume generated by traded formats was worth €9.3 billion, a 45% increase in the 2002-2004 period.

“The growing importance of formats will be reflected at MIPTV 2010 where we will introduce targeted conferences, pitching sessions and other events,” enthused Laurine Garaude.