The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning
Those of you who follow me on LinkedIn know that I predicted several weeks ago that we are already seeing the final editions of MIPCOM. I will not go into the details now. I think it will become “obvious” to people attending this year.
Instead, I would like to focus on a new beginning for France as a host of meaningful business summits for the international TV industry. The newly announced Paris Unscripted Showcase, taking place April 28-30, 2025, does look like a worthy and relevant replacement for MIPTV with the local players (some of which also operating in the UK), looking to mirror the model of the London TV Screenings whose success, alongside that of Series Mania, “contributed” greatly to the decline and ultimate shutdown of the second-biggest TV market in the world organized by RX France.
The Paris Unscripted Showcase will be the second major international event which is organized jointly by several companies active on the production and distribution scene for their direct clients, without the involvement of a big third-party “host”. This is a new trend for the industry where large players opt for what can be called a D2C (direct-to-client; distributor-to-client) model, instead of the “traditional” B2B format, offered by firms fully specializing in event management business (EMB), like RX France, or “hybrid” businesses which operate both as media and EMBs.
What is the future of the new D2C model? Clearly, the London TV Screenings is already an established “must-attend” event. The Paris Unscripted Showcase will have to prove its value, but the very fact that there is no other major market during this “traditional” time of the year for the industry to gather already means there will be interest for it, plus a strong lineup of content makers and sellers to add to it.
The emergence and favorable results of the Screenings and Showcase will eventually prompt other players to organize similar new D2C marketplaces in their own countries or regions, to target their clients directly without extra spending on travel, exhibition space, hotels, organizing services, etc. In other words, we will be seeing more D2C events being launched in the future, because they are more effective for those looking to monetize their content.
What is the future of the old B2B model? Clearly, it does not look bright. Especially for the bigger events out there, and I don’t mean only MIPCOM. At the end of the day, both distributors and their clients work with set budgets for markets and conferences (which are getting smaller with every year). They can’t afford to be present everywhere, at any price. As distributors put the focus on their own D2C ventures, they will be cutting the spending on some and fully quitting other B2B events. Their organizers will then face declining income from both exhibitors and attendees because buyers only go to markets with a solid lineup of sellers, and vice versa.
Thus, the beginning of the new D2C trend will mean the end to the big B2B events of the EMB companies because the business is changing.
Instead, I would like to focus on a new beginning for France as a host of meaningful business summits for the international TV industry. The newly announced Paris Unscripted Showcase, taking place April 28-30, 2025, does look like a worthy and relevant replacement for MIPTV with the local players (some of which also operating in the UK), looking to mirror the model of the London TV Screenings whose success, alongside that of Series Mania, “contributed” greatly to the decline and ultimate shutdown of the second-biggest TV market in the world organized by RX France.
The Paris Unscripted Showcase will be the second major international event which is organized jointly by several companies active on the production and distribution scene for their direct clients, without the involvement of a big third-party “host”. This is a new trend for the industry where large players opt for what can be called a D2C (direct-to-client; distributor-to-client) model, instead of the “traditional” B2B format, offered by firms fully specializing in event management business (EMB), like RX France, or “hybrid” businesses which operate both as media and EMBs.
What is the future of the new D2C model? Clearly, the London TV Screenings is already an established “must-attend” event. The Paris Unscripted Showcase will have to prove its value, but the very fact that there is no other major market during this “traditional” time of the year for the industry to gather already means there will be interest for it, plus a strong lineup of content makers and sellers to add to it.
The emergence and favorable results of the Screenings and Showcase will eventually prompt other players to organize similar new D2C marketplaces in their own countries or regions, to target their clients directly without extra spending on travel, exhibition space, hotels, organizing services, etc. In other words, we will be seeing more D2C events being launched in the future, because they are more effective for those looking to monetize their content.
What is the future of the old B2B model? Clearly, it does not look bright. Especially for the bigger events out there, and I don’t mean only MIPCOM. At the end of the day, both distributors and their clients work with set budgets for markets and conferences (which are getting smaller with every year). They can’t afford to be present everywhere, at any price. As distributors put the focus on their own D2C ventures, they will be cutting the spending on some and fully quitting other B2B events. Their organizers will then face declining income from both exhibitors and attendees because buyers only go to markets with a solid lineup of sellers, and vice versa.
Thus, the beginning of the new D2C trend will mean the end to the big B2B events of the EMB companies because the business is changing.
