Paris – MIPTV announced a special Focus on the Nordics, which will put the spotlight on the diversity of top-flight TV output and next-generation content from the region.
More than 20 of the top broadcasters, producers, creatives, distributors and digital-media pioneers from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will come together at MIPTV for a series of showcases, conferences and networking events.
Organised by Reed MIDEM, the 52nd annual MIPTV takes place 13-16 April in Cannes, France.
The main Focus on the Nordics event takes place on 14 April in the Palais des Festivals with the presence of leading broadcasters, production studios, and the Nordic’s top digital players in a series of conferences sessions and networking events.
Among featured conferences will be the Show-and-Tell: The Nordic Innovators, which will examine the Nordic culture of innovation that has given the world such superbrands as Ericsson, Spotify, Skype and Nokia, and present the new media players that are set to carry on this tradition.
Another session, entitled Reinventing Broadcasting, will explore how one of the world’s most competitive media markets has seen Nordic broadcasters rethink their business model earlier than their global counterparts. Panelists include Casten Almquist, CEO and President of Sweden’s TV4 Group. In this session, Magnus Mandersson, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services, Ericsson will also share how global IT giant Ericsson is playing a leading role in shaping of the future of broadcasting.
The Reinventing Content session will try to pin down what excites the millennials? What does this elusive, socially-networked generation want to watch, and where and how do they want to watch it? Among executives sharing the strategies that have succeeded in cracking the millennial challenge is Risto Kuulasmaa, Head of TV and Online at Finnish broadcaster YLE.
The Hottest Drama from the Cold will provide a sneak peak at the latest Nordic drama titles, along with an examination of the secret storytelling sauce that producers around world are desperate to bottle. Speakers include Dulse Gry Jensen, Head Writer of The Legacy and Showrunner of the highly-acclaimed season 2 of Summer, Henrik Björn, Director of Jordskott, from Palladium Film, and Piv Bernth, Head of Fiction at DR, who produced the internationally-acclaimed series The Killing I-III.
Other Focus on the Nordics events will include:
– On April 11, a MIPFormats session showcasing the best formats from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, presented by Jan Salling, COO & Managing Director Sales, Nordic World (Norway).
– On 12 April, the Nordics will be the focus of several MIPDoc sessions, including the Snack & Screen showcase of the best factual and documentary content from the region.
– The Dox Factor session, when factual writers and producers can speed pitch their concepts to five of the Nordic region’s most powerful documentary commissioners.
– The region’s output will be on show in a spacious Nordic pavilion, situated outside the Palais des Festivals on the Croisette.
– Focus on the Nordics event will close with a red carpet party for 1,000 delegates on April 14 in the Hotel Martinez and featuring live music acts and DJs from the Nordic countries.
The pan-regional initiative — the first of its kind staged by the Nordic content industry — is curated by industry veterans Annie Wegelius, former Director of Programming at Swedish public broadcaster SVT, and Thomas Hedberg, Founder of Titan TV.
“The Nordics have a story to tell that the global industry would be interested to hear,” said Wegelius. “Because the digital revolution came early to our region, we are not only comfortable with next-generation technology, but we have had more than 10 years of experience in understanding how it impacts consumer behaviour, rights issues and the challenges of piracy.”
The Focus on the Nordics is supported by Broadcasters TV2 and DR (Denmark), YLE and MTV 3 (Finland), TV2 and NRK (Norway), TV4 and SVT (Sweden), MTG and Discovery Networks (pan-Nordic). Media companies Endemol Shine Nordics, Magine TV, Nordic World, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Zodiak Nordic and Nordisk Film TV as well as Mediavision, Ixonos, FlowNetwork, Ericsson and the region’s Producers Associations will also be present.
“The Nordic countries are a breeding ground for some of the hottest drama, border-breaking formats, cutting edge web series and frontline mobile innovation. They have moved onto the international media landscape with a mixture of powerhouse energy and purpose that is unparalleled. We are delighted to add this fresh breath of Nordic air to MIPTV 2015,” said Laurine Garaude, Director of the Television Division at Reed MIDEM.
To find out “Why the North is so hot right now”, read the exclusive MIPBlog post, featuring high-level Nordic TV executives from SVT, ELK Format, Sagafilm Nordic, TV2 Denmark & Zodiak Media.
