MIPCOM boss Lucy Smith wants the world to know that October in Cannes is now about more than buying and selling TV programs. “Our biggest challenge is changing the perception,” she says, just weeks before her event opens. “You don’t come to MIPCOM just for your distribution deals anymore. You’re coming because you’ve got to find valuable IP, or you want to find out more about what’s going on in branded entertainment, or you’re looking at what’s happening in vertical drama or AI.”
RX France is behind the event, and it is shifting direction. The market that was once a straightforward buy-and-sell business is changing shape, even as distribution stays at its core. “We are a marketplace, but it’s not just a buy-and-sell market anymore,” Smith offers that insight.
The Pivot From Distribution
Put simply, MIPCOM had to change to stay relevant. The industry has consolidated, and its core distribution business is under pressure. Warner Bros. and Paramount may have separate stands in Cannes this year, but Smith says that arrangement is unlikely to survive when MIPCOM 2027 kicks off. The same is true of Banijay and All3Media.
The distributors of modest size are finding the going difficult. While acquisition executives continue to show up in strong numbers, their spending power has shrunk, since their budgets have come under strain.
Smith’s first MIPCOM was in 2006. She now runs the market. “We evolve with the changes in the industry,” she says. “We came out of probably ‘24 thinking, ‘This whole industry is just changing so much, and there’s less funding from traditional sources, so what does all that mean?’”
Creator Economy Moves Into Focus
The shift in direction is plain to see. It began with a strong push into co-production and FAST channels, and moved on to brands and the creator economy. As “We really wanted to make sure we were bringing more of the creative conversations around funding and IP. That was the first step, and then we brought the MIP Innovation Lab, so we could address streaming in a broader way,” Smith puts it.
“And then, the big push had to be the creator economy.”
YouTube had its biggest-ever presence at MIPCOM in 2025. It will be even more visible this time. Smith says partnering with the Google-owned company was “the right way to really make a mark and to say MIPCOM would be focusing and pivoting to the creator economy.”
Mann Studios Opens The Event
Dhar Mann Studios opens MIPCOM this year with a headline session on Sunday, ahead of the official start on Monday. Digital producer Mann and DMS CEO Sean Atkins will both speak at the keynote together.
“We all know that you know creator-led businesses are reshaping the global media landscape and we knew that that was that was something we needed to address,” Smith says. “We were getting calls from studios saying, ‘Hey, we want to meet all these creator-led businesses.’ And these businesses are really at that intersection of creators, brands and branded entertainment.”
BrandWorks Takes Over Branded Entertainment
This year, RX France has turned to MIP BrandWorks as the vehicle for its branded entertainment activity, following a partnership with BrandStorytelling last time out, with denstsu serving as the headline partner.
“We want to become the home of branded entertainment because we see ourselves as the gateway to the global entertainment content and media business. If you want to be working in content, and obviously brands need to be embedded in content to be culturally relevant, this is where you come and do that,” Smith says.
AI Gets Its Own Forum
A new conference and market built around artificial intelligence is part of the programme, operating under the MIP AI Entertainment Forum banner. The partners in the venture are Versos AI and Protégé.
“Companies involved in AI and entertainment have a specific need to be part of the content industry conversations,” Smith says about the reason for launching the new forum. “You’ve got the studios and producers, the production side of things, you’ve got the workflow piece, and you’ve got the licensing part; those will be the pillars.”
The Numbers Still Matter
The unique selling point of MIPCOM is still the sheer volume of people it brings together at one time, even as its emphasis has changed. The attendance figures aren’t what they once were, yet no other international TV event can claim to gather 10,000 people in one place.
“We know that bringing people together at one time in one place gives them the opportunity to work together on what these new businesses are,” Smith says. “We wanted to bridge the gap in the conversations between traditional media companies, who remain hugely important, and these newer creator-led studios.”
While Cannes Lions and the film festival there come with their own glitz and glamour, and MIPCOM has its own share of photo moments, the event is still all about the dealmaking at its core.
Smith made the statement that appears as quotation “If you really want to do business and understand these new ways of doing business, this is where it’s going to be happening, and this is where things will start moving forward,”.
The pivot is an answer to industry change. MIPCOM is attempting to remain relevant by transforming into a destination for the creative conversations that funding and IP discussions have now moved around.
“You don’t come to MIPCOM just for your distribution deals anymore.”
| Area | MIPCOM’s Position |
|---|---|
| Distribution | Still at the core of the event |
| Creator economy | A major focus, with YouTube’s biggest-ever presence |
| Branded entertainment | Now run by MIP BrandWorks |
| AI | A new conference under the MIP AI Entertainment Forum banner |
| Attendance | Still gathers 10,000 people in one place, the largest international TV event |
The conversation about the market now includes branded entertainment and AI, alongside the old focus on dealmaking.
Source material: “MIPCOM Bets On Creators, Brands & AI As International TV Business Readies For Cannes Get-Together,” Deadline.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.