Mipcom Minutes - Cannes 2022
The Streaming Lab - MENA #22
This newsletter is all about MIPCOM, a conclusion of a busy & sunny week in Cannes.
Before we start, some important dates next month:
On November 1-2, I’ll be moderating a panel for NexTV Series MENA: The potential of AVOD in the region.
On November 3, I’ll be presenting the CTV MENA Landscape during the CTV Webinar organized by IAB GCC.
On November 8, I’ll be attending BroadcastPro ME Summit & Awards. A special edition for Chris Redmond and I, as our project ottpro.io has been shortlisted in the category MENA Trendsetter of the year.
Today, I’ll be focusing on 3 topics that were on the spotlight this MIPCOM 2022:
Content is still King
FAST is everywhere
Data is King Kong
One more thing…
CONTENT IS STILL KING
MIPCOM is most of all a content event. And this 38th edition met a lot of expectations:
10,896 delegates
3,100 buyers
321 individual stands
108 countries
The basement of the Palais was full of energy again, with exhibitors from all over the world: India, Turkey, France, Morocco, South Korea, UAE, Bahrain, Indonesia, Japan and much more!
The Entertainment companies in Riviera buildings were also proud to show their premium stands.
And of course, let’s not forget the giant beachside houses and tents: Samsung TV Plus, Warner Bros. Discovery, ITV Studios, Banijay, A+E Media Group, Paramount, Lionsgate Entertainment, Fremantle, etc.
I’m convinced that content experts have a role to play to help buyers discover new content. They can be consultant, agents, distributors, marketplaces, etc. What’s important is that they add value to the entire ecosystem.
FAST IS EVERYWHERE
Free Ad-supported Streaming TV ( FAST) was everywhere this year. The MIPCOM team scheduled several panels & workshops to help the industry learn more about this new business model. My insights:
Rights holders believe in the potential of FAST and are ready to invest in it.
FAST Platforms entered the streaming war, and Samsung sent a strong message with its prime beachside stand.
The real war could be between the Tech providers. And most of them invested in this MIPCOM: Amagi, Wurl, OTTera, Okast, SoFAST, FASTHub, Harmonic, etc.
However, FAST remains a “young model” and is still facing a lot of disparities in terms of territory and potential revenue. My guess is that MIPCOM will become in the next 3 years an hybrid event, gathering major international players from Content, Advertising and technical Platforms.
DATA IS KING KONG
On the one hand, everybody in the media industry knows that Data is key, but finding the right information is still challenging. In MENA for example, getting the most watched content per platform is still complex.
On the other hand, it looks like the number of subscribers is no longer the only proof of success. Usage and views will soon have a greater impact on future content acquisition plans.
I met data-driven companies that can help many regions build a more transparent ecosystem, and support the streamers to acquire content that makes sense for their audience. You’ll hear from them very soon.
ONE MORE THING… Merci!
I’d like to conclude this newsletter by thanking the MIPCOM team for bringing the media industry all together, once again.
A special thanks to Pascale Lallemand. She invested time and energy in the MENA region, the buyers & exhibitors but also the consultants and experts, considering all of us as an important piece of the puzzle.
I’m convinced communities will be at the center of the media industry in the coming years, and MIPCOM & MIPTV will be here for media professionals to collaborate, socialize and have fun.
What’s next for The Streaming Lab?
MIPCOM was the perfect opportunity for me to meet my followers and readers in real life. And the feedback I received were amazing. The Streaming Lab - MENA is becoming a valuable source of information to understand the OTT market in the MENA region and keep track of all the active streaming services.
The media industry is evolving, and so are my activities. The Streaming Lab is becoming more than a newsletter: an agency & a studio.
An agency to help streaming services from the MENA region monetize and accelerate growth.
A studio where I blueprint, prototype and incubate streaming-based product ideas.
Discover the full Streaming Lab universe and the current projects here. I’m just getting started ;)
That’s all for today, my minutes of MIPCOM 2022.
See you online next week. Until then, enjoy House of The Dragon season 1 finale, to be released on OSN+ this Monday 5am KSA.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you with:
If you want to learn more about OTT in MENA, I’d recommend starting with my market report:
→ The local OTT ecosystem in MENA: Learn everything about the local streaming services in the region. Get full access here.
License premium FAST & On Demand content on TVToday.
Hire top streaming experts for short-term assignments on OTTpro.