CANNES: They say when you hit 50 you must celebrate. And that?s what the world?s biggest TV content marketplace MipTV is doing in its 50th year. It is throwing party and having a blast in style. Sources indicate that more than 11,000 TV and film distribution, creators and show runners, mobile and digital content creators and platform owners and executives are expected to make their way to Cannes in the French Riviera in the south of France between 8 and 11 April.

Two days prior to MipTV, Reed Midem the company behind it, had already announced record attendance for its MipDoc and MipFormats festival. The first is a platform to connect documentary and factual programming producers and creators to connect with distributors and broadcasters. The second is an endeavor to create an annual gathering of the billions of dollars worth TV reality, entertainment and factual format business. More than 1400 programmes were screened at MipDoc which was held at the famed Hotel Martinez which has been home to a zillion Hollywood, international Bollywood stars.

The weather has been playing truant in the sleepy small seaside resort of Cannes which is bustling with suited and booted folks, and creative types in jeans and T-shirts since early April. Despite it being spring already, temperatures have been yo-yoing from warm to pleasant to cold from 18-20 degrees to 12-16 to 8 degrees. And to top it all, the skies opened up on occasions, sending a steady drizzle down, bringing a chill over Cannes. The hope is that the weather will stabilize and continue to be pleasant.

The inclement weather despite, there?s reason to raise the champagne at MipTV. The choppy economic climate in Europe and the US has not dampened any spirits. Hotels were reporting full occupancy, bars were overflowing and restaurants were turning away regulars as seats were not available. The Reed Midem management is already reporting its best MipTV in terms of visitors and turnover since the past three years when trends were indicating stagnation and even deceleration. These numbers are only expected to go up by the time the market ends.

India has also after a long time shown an increased love for MipTV with more exhibitors and participants.

Among those exhibiting include Zee TV, Viacom18, DQ Entertainment, Eros International, Maximus Multimedia, Shemaroo Entertainment, and Unisys exhibiting to sell their content to existing and new territories. The Association of Motion Picture and Television Programme Producers has sent its co-chairman J.D. Majethia to take a look- see and understand on how AMPTPP can leverage MipTV and Mipcom to pole-vault its members? revenues and bring them onto the global content centre stage. Close to 100 Indian TV broadcast, animation, gaming and 40 companies have made their way to the French Riviera resort.

"Korea, Russia, China and Latin America have been using these two platforms to effectively take their creative industries of television and film to a global level and to hundreds of millions of TV viewers outside of their countries," says MipTV and MipCom India representative and Indiantelevision.com group founder Anil Wanvari.

"The Indian content community is slowly understanding and this and we are seeing positive signs with the increased attendance this year. Clearly, things can go upward only."

MipTV this year has taken steps to beef up its digital content initiative MipCube with panels, discussions, networking initiatives and exhibition areas. Among those expected to highlight this event include Twitter?s head of broadcast partnerships Dan Biddle, Pixiwoo creators Sam and Nick Chapman, Machinima president and co-founder Pjilip DeBevoise, Brightcove?s Luk Gaydon, Magine founder & CEO Mattias Hjelmstedt. Special sessions have been lined up to focus on TV?s next revolution - 4K TV. Other special segment zoom-ins include: a whole range of panels on branded content and entertainment and a handful of discussions on co-productions, productions with global markets in mind.

The best, however, has been slated for MipTV. Among those expected to make their visions felt included: Discovery Networks President & CEO David Sazlav, BSkyB managing director content Sophie Turner Laing, CSI creator Anthiony E Zuiker, Homeland executive producer Howard Gordon, Prisoner of War creator, writer and director Gideon Raff, BBC drama commissioning controller, Ben Stephenson, Danish Broadcasting drama head Piv Brenth, Red Bull Media chief commercial officer Alexander Koppel, Endemol Group President Tim Hincks, Entertainment One President & CEO Darren Throop, and of course from British prime minister Gordon Brown who talked about the United Nation?s first global education initiative.

This apart, numerous parties are slated to take place between 8 and 11 April. Liquor, champagne and wines will flow, glasses will be clinked, exotic French and international cuisine knick-knacks served. Many an executive will nurse a hangover following a binge of excessive drinking as each of the 11000 attendees strives to strike deals late into the night at the Martinez or Grand Hotel Bar or at La Chunga a little further down the famed Croissette. As has been the case over the past many years at MipTV.

MUMBAI: Tricon Films and Television is heading to next week?s television trade event MipTV in Cannes, France with over 120 hours of new comedy, lifestyle and documentary series.

These include comedy series? ?Maron? and ?Holliston? , food series ?Donut Showdown?, home and renovation series ?A Bryk at a Time? and ?Disaster Decks?, factual series ?Zoo Clues?, ?On the Spot?and ?EA Sports Game Time?.

Returning series include comedy series ?Comedy Bang Bang? and ?Bunk!?, the dramatic factual series ?I Didn?t Do It?, feature documentary ?Satan?, food series ?Restaurant Takeover? and lifestyle series ?Ex-Wives of Rock?.

?Maron? a new scripted comedy series from IFC, is based on comedian and podcaster Marc Maron?s life and successful WTF podcast (www.wtfpod.com), chronicling his day-to-day struggle to maintain relationships other than the ones with his podcast audience and his beloved trio of cats.

?EA Sports Game Time? focuses on the aspects of the games that fans enjoy while letting them get up close and personal with athletes and go behind the scenes at sporting events, while placing importance on health, proper training, and sportsmanship.

?Donut Showdown? showcases three of the best pastry chefs from across the US as they test their creativity in the kitchen for bragging rights and a $10,000 prize.

MUMBAI: Gaumont International Television is heading to next week?s television trade event MipTV with three of the key artists from the series ?Hemlock Grove?.

Director and executive producer Eli Roth, as well as stars Famke Janssen and Bill Skarsgard will walk the Red Carpet.

In addition to walking the Red Carpet during MipTV?s opening night festivities at the Martinez, the trio, along with Katie O?Connell, will be participating in a co-production case study panel on 9 April where they will discuss how they brought this unique and distinctive series to the new frontier of streaming on-demand and global television screens.

?Hemlock Grove? tells the tale of a once vibrant and now struggling community after a mysterious death.

MUMBAI: US media company A+E Networks heads to next week?s television trade event MipTV in Cannes, France with a new line-up of TV movies, real-life series, and a selection of formats for the international market.

Headlining the slate are the new Lifetime Original Movies, ?Ring of Fire?, starring Jewel, ?Betty and Coretta?, starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige, and ?Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story?, starring Eric McCormack and Lolita Davidovitch. Other programming highlights include the character-driven series ?Storage Wars: New York?, ?Double Divas?, along with ?7 Days of Sex?. Returning shows include ?Counting Cars?, ?Duck Dynasty?, and ?The Men Who Built America?.

A+E Networks MD international content distribution Marielle Zuccarelli said, "A+E Networks? MipTV line-up features new and returning content across a variety of genres. We are very excited about our newest Lifetime Original Movies, which include two very moving bio-pics in ?Ring of Fire? and ?Betty and Coretta? as well as the crime thriller ?Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story?. We have also added a number of entertaining new character-driven series, including ?Double Divas? and ?Storage Wars: New York?.
 
"Our returning slate includes the acclaimed ?big history? productions, ?The Men Who Built America? and ?Mankind The Story of All of Us?, both of which feature cutting-edge graphics and beautifully shot recreations that give these programs a truly cinematic look and feel."

MUMBAI: Australia?s Flame Distribution is launching a raft of documentaries at the television trade event MipTV next month.

?First Footprints? is a ZDF/Arte/ABC Australia production that tells the previously untold story of the original pioneers of all humankind, a history that began in Australia 50,000 years before modern humans reached America and Europe.

?The Story of Australia? is a Bearcage Production for CCTV 9 China that captures the stunning Australian landscape and people of contemporary Australia. Each aspect of Australian life will be seen through the lives of people like the wildlife ranger in Kakadu, the rodeo rider in NSW and the marine biologist on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.

Bearcage has also produced ?Dinosaurs of the Outback? which uses live action and 3D animation to create reconstructions that tell the story of the grand creatures who used to roam the Australian Outback.

?Nothing on Earth?, Jerrycan Film?s follow-up to ?Salt?, follows artist Murray Fredericks on an adventure of extremes in one of the most breathtaking environments on earth - atop a melting glacier on the Greenland Icecap under the solar storms of the Aurora Borealis.

The company?s sales, acquisitions director Fiona Gilroy said, "We have been working closely with these producers over the past few years on all these projects and we are incredibly proud to be bringing them to the international marketplace. To have content of this calibre in our catalogue is a real coup for us."

In addition to these Australian productions, Flame is also distributing content from UK independents. Highlights include BBC?s ?The Farm Fixer? which Flame has already sold to SBS Australia, Choice TV New Zealand and TV2 Denmark.

MUMBAI: Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now United Nations? Special Envoy for Global Education, is to present the UN Global Education First Initiative in a MipTV conference session, scheduled for 10 April in Cannes, France.

The MipTV session will be followed by a ?Countdown for Global Education? VIP lunch, marking the start of the 1,000-day countdown to 2015, the deadline that the global community has set to have every child in school.

Organised by Reed Midem, MipTV will take place in Cannes from 8-11 April.

As MipTV celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is timely for the global content market to provide a platform for the international TV industry that demonstrates its potential to drive positive social change. The goal is that, through partnerships with the UN?s Global Education First Initiative, the whole TV ecosystem from around the world backs this campaign by aligning with the cause of education.

Brown said, "We urgently need to create a global movement which will put pressure on leaders to make education a priority and to ensure that they keep their promises. We?re seeing the beginnings of that global community already, but the television industry has a huge part to play in reaching people in every corner of the world, and communicating these issues to them in an entertaining and accessible way."

Reed Midem?s television division director Laurine Garaude said, "MipTV is committed to support this exceptional cause, which will mobilise the entire international TV and online digital ecosystem to create a real impact that will contribute significantly to the global community".

UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said, "MipTV is an ideal venue and audience to host the UN global Education First Initiative. The UN partnership with the TV industry on education is a win-win proposition".

Featuring a video introduction from the United Nations? Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the session will present a diverse line-up of speakers, all addressing television?s power to change. Discovery president, CEO David Zaslav will speak on the power of television to teach. Discovery, which is also marking its 50th anniversary this year, has recently given significant backing to the UN?s education initiative and other similar programmes.

Social entrepreneur and former Microsoft executive John Wood, who is Room to Read CEO and Founder, will tackle the power of television to inspire action.

The power of television to catalyse a movement will be addressed by Gucci CMO Robert Triefus which has launched the ?Chime for Change? global campaign focused on girls? and women?s empowerment. Gucci is also sponsoring the ?Countdown for Global Education? VIP lunch after the session, which will be moderated by Launsky-Tieffenthal.

The session?s audience will also hear from Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala Yousafzai. Malala is the Pakistani girl who became a figurehead for the right of girls to education when she was shot in the head last year by the Taliban for simply going to school. A long-standing campaigner for education, Yousafzai runs a network of schools in Pakistan and is an adviser of the UN Special Envoy Brown on girls? education issues.