@ Mipcom Wrap-Up & Lines Of The Week, Jason Hirschhorn Edition
This story was written by Robert Andrews.
As the sun sets and the beautiful people sup cocktails in Cannes on the conference's closing night, what was the mood at this year's Mip TV market? After years of defensiveness, producers are this year much keener to proactively seek online distributors, as I was told by Dailymotion UK creative director Digby Lewis, who said negotiations are much easier nowadays There's no shortage of new such channels on offer - all manner of video sites was here in France, desperately pitching for rights to new series. But TV makers are still reluctant to do exclusive deals, with the advice from the conference stage saying: cover the bases and deal with all the video sites (and YouTube all but begging for channel partnerships)
For, as much as social sites and video services claim to be poles apart from each other (Bebo EU MD Kate Burns took pains to distance her site from Facebook), the truth is that the differences can sometimes be wafer thin (MySpace's description of its audience sounded much the same as Bebo's). And, as much as online players are beginning to commission their own TV in lieu of exclusive third-party content, the quality on offer isn't going to give network execs nightmares any time soon Babelgum content director Mark Cranwell told me he's using his platform's 10 million commissioning fund judiciously enough that commissioned works have "very low production values", something that's also clear from my first viewing of Bebo's Sam King drama, a brand-centric social series that left me scratching my head (perhaps I'm too far beyond it's core 13-24 demographic).
What's becoming clearer is that most online TV will have to be free - but there was disagreement over how the down-turning advertising economy would affect things, with Joost claiming to be "recession-proof" because it's ad-funded and blinkBox disagreeing, with Dailymotion CEO Mark Zaleski forecasting a fall in discretionary spend on print and broadcast but continued growth for web players that demonstrate ROI
I'll leave you with some of the lighter lines from the Palais stage over last few days...
Sling Entertainment president Jason Hirschhorn:-
- On the economy: "I hope the US government doesn't nationalize Sling Media."
- "If you click an ad on Sling.com, we'll actually have the star come and bring the product to your house."
- "When I first went out and tried to find content, it was like drinking from a hose."
- "The rights landscape is a warzone."
- "I often call it 'business development looking at your feet' - because if I looked at the mountain I'd throw up."
- "We're not in this for two years, we're in it for 50 - I probably won't be with the same company."
Andy Forsell, SVP, content and acquisition, Hulu:-
- "One of our design principles was 'don't be Tokyo at night' - keep things simple and easy to find."
Erik Huggers, director, future media and technology, BBC:-
- On his promotion: "Last couple of months, I've been drinking from the old firehose."
Kate Burns, MD, UK & Europe, Bebo:-
- "Content may be king - but audience is superking."
and a round-up of the closing news...
-- Bebo oiginals: Bebo will follow KateModern, The Gap Year, Sofia's Diary and Sam King with a commitment to at least six new TV commissions in 2009. UK MD Kate Burns is calling the package "Bebo Originals" - she told a panel: "We're taking some best practice from broadcasters, in terms of scheduling and seasoning."
-- Dailymotion HQ: The Francophile site upgraded its player with the H.264 codec and audio using 96Kbps AAC, badging it "HQ". Dailymotion already allowed upload of HD videos; HQ upscales those that aren't in true HD, as the site continues to court the filmmaking crowd.
-- Joost traffic: Joost says it got a 1,600 percent traffic increase the day after launching its long-awaited web Flash version. Chief creative officer Henrik Werdelin revealed Tuesday traffic was 16 times up on the day before. Still, much of the hike will have come from media attention, and no wonder it's increased - previously, Joost shows were inside its app, not on-site.
-- Eurosport VOD: The sports broadcaster says it will start a VOD service over internet, cable and satellite, allowing its carriers to offer its material to their subscribers. Sounds initially like a simple repackaging of sports rights for VOD, but Eurosport is giving services more than 4,000 weekly hours of video, also via FTP. Canal+ and Belgacom are so far signed on.
By Robert Andrews