PARIS – Reed MIDEM has announced the conference theme for MIPCOM 2018, “The Big Shift”, to be explored by the first two confirmed keynote speakers, Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Studios, and Josh Sapan, President and CEO of AMC Networks.

The world’s entertainment content market, MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France, from 15-18 October. This year, MIPCOM takes as its overarching conference theme “The Big Shift” which sets out to examine the paradigm shifts affecting the content creation, distribution and monetisation – a topic that will be tackled by a string of top-level industry figures.

The merger of BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide has brought together Great Britain’s most awarded TV production house and Europe’s biggest distribution business into a single integrated company, which also has relationships with many of the UK’s most creative independents.

At MIPCOM, Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Studios, will set out the ambitions of the new company, discussing its approach to strategic partnerships as well as exclusively showcasing some of its latest premium content. His keynote is scheduled for Monday 15 October.

During his tenure as President and CEO of AMC Networks, Josh Sapan has been the driving force behind establishing AMC Networks as a global creative powerhouse consisting of several leading entertainment brands including US cable networks AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WE TV, as well as AMC Studios, streaming platforms AMC Premiere, Sundance Now and Shudder, independent film label IFC Films, and AMC Networks International, the company’s worldwide programming and distribution division.

Under Sapan’s leadership, AMC Networks has been credited with creating some of television’s most critically-acclaimed and popular series, including The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and Better Call Saul, recent hits Killing Eve and Dietland, and iconic series Breaking Bad and Mad Men. His keynote is scheduled for Tuesday 16 October.

The MIPCOM 2018 conference programme is titled “The Big Shift: Transitioning to a Reshaped Media Landscape”. The global content industry is on a high. Volume and demand for premium content are reaching new heights, rising in tandem with unparalleled quality. Financial pressure is intensifying as global streamers impact the balance of power across the content universe.

To stand-out and remain unique, it is critical to invest in talent, embrace risk-taking, finance innovation, and secure IP retention. Consolidation, gaining ownership and control over content, is more than ever the name of the global content game. Now is the time to envision future business models, put new rules into play and take part in an unprecedented reshaping of the entertainment media landscape.

MIPCOM is an annual highly-anticipated global market for entertainment content across all platforms. Each October, the industry’s major players from TV and film converge in Cannes to create a new world of entertainment. MIPCOM presents many opportunites, transforming four days of meetings, screenings and conferences into deals, from blockbuster programming to ground-breaking partnerships.