With a total of 4449 exhibiting and visiting companies as well as 36 sponsors and 171 press organisations (print, electronic and online), MIPCOM 2015 lived up to expectation as the yearly most anticipated global market for entertainment content across all platforms.

The city of Cannes, France once again, from October 5 to 8, 2015 hosted the industry’s major players as they turned every moment into an opportunity, transforming four days of meetings, screenings and conferences into deals, from blockbuster programming to ground-breaking partnerships.

Nigeria’s participation at the global event was strategically anchored on the country pavilion hosted by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) featuring organisations such as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Multichoice Nigeria Limited; Ebonylife TV; Multimesh Broadcasting Limited; One Music Ltd.; African International Film Festival (AFRIFF); Point Blank Media Concepts; Royal Roots Communication Network Ltd.; Golden Heritage Nigeria Ltd.; Apreel Ventures; Eagles House Global Resources; Total Recall Media Ltd; among others.

The pavilion was not only strategically located, the NBC created side attractions that drove traffic to the stand endlessly. The networking cocktail on Tuesday, October 6 was remarkable as it attracted attention of big companies among the exhibitors.

Commenting on the reception, the Director- General of NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba said, “Everything we are trying to do is with a purpose and it is to lift the profile of the Nigerian broadcasting industry. It is to say to the whole world that we should be taken seriously. And I think that if you look at the kind of people that attended today’s event (networking cocktail) were all the big people from all the media companies in the world. It shows also the faith they have in Nigeria, as a destination and a new hub for broadcasting and media in Africa. I think our work now is to sustain that confidence and see that we translate that confidence into more investment, jobs and better environment for our people.”

He expressed optimism that the impact that the regulatory agency has created at MIPCOM would rub off on its biennial conference of African broadcasters, AFRICAST.

“Part of the whole discussion that has gone here is once the interest is kindled in Nigeria, if you look at the participation, some people believed Nigeria is just one backward but coming here and being here with us they now know that we are human beings and have great potentials. We can translate and transfer that back to Africast. And a lot of the talks and discussions that have gone on today have been about what we are doing in Nigeria and the launch of the new digital free to air platform.

“We talked to them about all the beautiful stuff going on in Nigeria and how they themselves can take part in that. Africast is a whole NBC platform, we have already received sponsorship from one or two people which I cannot name at the moment. The plan is to make Africast a yearly so that we can have two tracks.

“Africast used to be about technology, but you saw what we did last year, making it around content , we can actually create an African content market every year while the general Africast on a bi-annual basis. We have received response but we need to create the buz which we have succeeded in doing tonight, so that by the time we go back to Nigeria and begin the annual Africast content market. We already have an understanding with REED mideem, the organisers of MIPCOM and with event like this, we can make Africast content market a place to be. We have our consultant, Mr. Makin Soyinka who is helping us organized that on an annual basis and he helped us to put this together. There is a lot of work to be done but I am confident that undoubtedly Nigeria would be the creative hub of Africa.”

On her part, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan used the occasion to market the country’s digital migration. Commenting after she watched a presentation on the set up box that will be deployed to drive the transition in Nigeria, she said, “We are set now to roll out the pilot in Jos and what we have seen today is an assurance that the pilot can go on as soon as the set up boxes come in.

“I am sure within a month, we would be able to start in Jos and it is just a pilot phase. There are a lot of lessons we would learn from it and improve on as we roll out nationally. I am optimistic we would meet the 2017 deadline.”

According to her, Nigeria’s participation this year “has been very fruitful. The discussions that had gone on here has been richer than the previous years and I think that is a big improvement and I believe that we would keep getting better and bigger. I was talking with the DG that very soon we should be talking of being country of honour at MIPCOM so that we can showcase all we have in Nigeria.”

She described the plan to bring MIPCOM to Nigeria as a good initiative.

“If we can get people together for MIPCOM in Nigeria and encourage them to show what they have to the outside world, I think it is a very good thing. Most people do not know the good thing that we have in Nigeria, so this is an opportunity to show the world that we have a lot to show them.”

Since 2013, Nigeria began to participate officially in the global event. The step, according to Mba, was motivated by the understanding that the entertainment content market provides an international platform for Nigerian producers and content suppliers to showcase and monetize their content.

Besides, MIPCOM is seen as an opportunity to develop international partnerships and collaborations through a Nigerian Country Pavilion.

The interest of Nigerians in MIPCOM is further boosted by the on-going march to digital terrestrial television broadcasting which, it is believed, will push demand on content.

An official of the commission, Mrs Folakemi Moses-Ikhile, in a statement had noted, “the debut of the Nigeria Country pavilion at MIPCOM 2013 as an initiative of the National Broadcasting Commission recorded impressive and noteworthy successes and received tremendous support from the home government and warm reception from the international community.

The curtain raiser this year was the fourth annual Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch facilitated by the Lifetime Networks and The Hollywood Reporter. Held
at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes, the lunch featured
 Senior Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Lifetime, Danielle Carrig delivering an opening presentation on the Broad Focus Initiative.

Developed by US network Lifetime, the initiative was designed to encourage and cultivate women’s talent in media, scout content leaders who are creating the best stories for television, and advocate and raise awareness about the need for more women in influential content making roles.

Carrig was recently recognized by the Alliance for Women in Media as a Women Who Represent honouree, and Variety named Carrig in its 2014 list of ‘Hollywood’s New Leaders’ featuring executives under the age of 40.

Thereafter, a prestigious panel of senior industry executives discussed this year’s theme, Think Next, to explore how the new generation of powerful women could drive the future of the industry, along with the challenges and opportunities brought by the evolution.

The MIPCOM panel discussion had, as moderator, Marisa Guthrie, Television Editor, East Coast, from The Hollywood Reporter.
 “This is MIPCOM’s fourth Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, which has established itself as a valuable forum for influential women in the industry to exchange views.

This makes it a key networking event for those women shaping the future of TV and entertainment,” said Laurine Garaude, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Television Division.