MIPTV, one of the world's biggest schmooze-fests for content producers, creators, and distributors is underway in Cannes, France. This year, of course, all the buzz is about digital distribution
channels, be they Internet TV, video on demand, mobile phones or HDTV. One noticeable difference,
The Hollywood Reporter notes, is that big-time execs at international media companies are
actually sitting on panels about new media. Things have moved along quickly since last year: one Buena Vista International exec noted that mobile TV, for example, wasn't even discussed at the 2005
show; this year the mobile panel is standing-room only. However, very few deals are being made. The biggest deterrent to actual sales is the thorny issue of rights, which could one day change the way
content is bought and sold. One indie producer admitted to being "scared" of selling new-media rights because he wouldn't understand how or where they would be used, as digital deliverability
percolates into existing media channels. "If I sell Internet rights, and the buyer then transmits them to a digital set-top box to watch on TV, my television buyer will get pissed off," he noted. In
fact, while the general consensus among content owners is interest in new media and a willingness to learn, many say they will be making no deals at this year's show or in the near future until the
Internet TV, mobile TV, and video-on-demand markets take form.
Read the whole story at Hollywood Reporter »