MIPCOM, Cannes – Senior execs attending MIPCOM this week are remaining upbeat about the impact of the financial crisis upon the TV and industries. Consistently the message has been that TV consumption tends to rise in times of recession because people cut down on going out and other luxuries. Discovery Communications’ president and CEO David Zaslav said that because 50 percent of revenues are derived from cable subscriptions, and 30 percent come from outside of the US, he is confident company will weather the economic downturn. Sentiment was echoed by Disney-ABC International TV’s Ben Pyne, and VIACOM President & CEO Philippe Dauman. Marcel Fenez, partner, entertainment and media at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which produces an annual Entertainment and Media Global Outlook, says that projections will not be revised in light of the current economic turmoil. “Our projections are for five years, knew ad spend would drop in 2009 (post-Olympics) anyway, and they drivers of growth are areas that will not be directly impacted.”