Established as the most anticipated event in the television content industry, MIPCOM gathered leading media players for a range of meetings, screenings and conferences in the famous Riviera city of Cannes in October this year. MIPCOM is one of the leading event organised by Reed MIDEM which will be presenting their latest event, MIP China Hangzhou. The event will be launched in partnership with China Media Management Inc (CMM-I), offi cial representative for MIPTV and MIPCOM in China and Zhejiang MegaMedia, organiser of the Zhejiang of the Zhejiang Provincial Pavilion at the MIP markets in Cannes. This event follows after Reed MIDEM’s move to branch out of Europe to the Latin American market in 2014 with MIP Cancun. The inaugural Latin American Buyers’ Summit took place in Mexico from November 19 to 21 in 2014. MIP Cancun benefited a global partnership with Mexican Media powerhouse TV Azteca and a knowledge partnership with market analysis expert Eurodata. This is MIP’s very fi rst event in China and its’ scheduled from 23 to 25 May next year in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou is known as the beautiful East Coast city that hosted the recent G20 Summit in September this year. MIP China Hangzhou is dedicated to increase content development between the Chinese and international production companies as well as to provide a comprehensive educational forum for Chinese media professionals to recognise international TV markets and trends. MIP China Hangzhou is a high-level summit with two components in one event. The fi rst component is the Partnership Forum which will gather leading executives from up to 40 international television production and distribution companies with 40 senior level Chinese media executives for one-to-one meetings. The oneto- one setting aims to forge global co-development and co-production between these international and Chinese representatives. The attendees of the Partnership Forum will also have the opportunity to visit production studios based in and around Hangzhou, the heart of major media productions. “Cross-border content development is more than ever a strategic choice for entertainment production companies looking to capture local and global audiences,” said Reed MIDEM chief executive Paul Zilk. The second component of the event will be a comprehensive professional training conference which will see an attendance of 150 delegates.

The training conference will include sharing on creating international TV and online hits as well as international distribution and content development in the entertainment sectors such as online video and virtual reality. The online digital space and virtual reality have become an increasingly popular demand in the industry. This sharing will allow the attendees to gain a better understanding of the international and Chinese distribution domain. Ted Baracos, Director of Market Development at Reed MIDEM claims that MIP China Hangzhou will be a promising event for the MIP global community as he said, “It is the most direct cost-effective and easy way for international studios to fi nd Chinese partners. I am looking forward to seeing a good contingent of the international committee and match the right people with the right Chinese partners.” MIP China Hangzhou will be the latest event in the Reed MIDEM portfolio which focuses on the co-development of content for China and global markets. Reed MIDEM intensifi es its’ presence in Asia with MIP China Hangzhou and the thriving cooperation with Asia Television Forum & Market (ATF) which takes place in Singapore from 6 to 9 December this year. ATF is a part of Reed Exhibitions portfolio of events which hosted the MIPAcademy workshops in Singapore since 2013 with MIPTV/MIPCOM and support from IMDA. MIPAcademy was also launched in Korea at the Busan Content Market in 2015 to extend the MIP brand to all continents. The Deputy Secretary General of Hangzhou’s Municipal People’s Government and organiser of the G20 summit in September, Xia Jingge said, “Hangzhou will showcase a distinctive appeal of past, present and future with its’ deep culture and we will make every effort to support the event and make MIP China Hangzhou a success.” Xia Jingge emphasises the massive support given by the Hangzhou’s Municipal People’s Government for the local creative industry.

He also shared that Hangzhou has been extending its’ dedications to Reed MIDEM in the past years for MIPCOM and MIPTV. Reed MIDEM has selected Hangzhou as the location of choice for its strong presence in television, fi lm, cartoon and animation and its suitability for hosting large-scale events. “Zhejiang is the animation province where Hangzhou is located – in the midst of media companies. The site also reminds us of Cannes with high similarities of the waterfront lakeside location,” said Ted. MIP China’s partner, MegaMedia recently launched a range of professional media businesses at MIPTV in Cannes. MegaMedia is a professional online platform showcasing original, authorised derivatives or collaborative media products including movies, dramas, animations, documentaries, games and music. The project was jointly developed by Zhejiang Huamai Network Technologies and GBTIMES, with the primary project support from the Zhejiang provincial government. China Media Management Inc (CMMI) is the other partner of the MIP China which has the backing of the Chinese media to establish their brands and products internationally since 2003. CMMI have also launched their fi rst overseas offi ce in the United States to source for international investment opportunities for Chinese media content. Globally esteemed companies such as Korea’s KOCCA, France’s Cyberstudio, Singapore’s Silver Wolf, and Little Plane from the United States have all voiced out their interest to work with Chinese partners in entertainment and potentially get involve in MIP China.

All3Media, United Kingdom’s largest independent television, fi lm and digital production and distribution company, has marked their attendance for MIP China Hangzhou next year. All3Media group comprises of 21 production and distribution companies from across the UK, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. All3Media intends to develop business with Chinese broadcasters and producers in China through this opportunity at MIP China. Louise Pedersen, CEO of All3Media International expressed their interest in meeting new clients, broadcasters, producers and expanding new contacts to grow their business in the territory. Later this year, All3Media will be opening an offi ce in Singapore which focuses on their business in the Asian region. All3Media’s Million Second Quiz, Sexy Beasts, Are You Normal? are some popular formats that have worked well in the market. “We want to grow the business in both non-scripted and scripted formats. Scripted formats is an area that we have not yet cracked and we think that we are going to look into MIP China to meet partners who can help build that business,” says Louise Pedersen. Hangzhou is home to the e-commerce site Ali Baba and the comprehensive fi lm and TV media group, Huace TV & Film. Huace Media recently announced that they are going be a global sponsor of MIP China Hangzhou. Huace Media is known as the biggest content creator with 1000 episodes of TV episodes produced yearly with 10 feature fi lms and 10 entertainment shows. Their market share in China’s Film and TV industry is over 18%, and their online platform receives more than 100 billion hits. Huace Group has been exporting Chinese TV series in over six markets and has worked with international companies like Sony, ITV, FOX and All3Media. Their hit dramas are My Amazing Boyfriend and Love 020 gathered the most number of audiences this year. Huace Media also had their first Chinese drama screened at MIPCOM this year. “Huace Media is proud to be partnering with Reed MIDEM for the launch of this new business forum which brings production studios, channels and brands from China with potential partners from around the world together,” said Cecilia Zhu, Vice General Manager of Huace Global.