MIPCOM 2025: Distribution & Dealmaking, Major Studios, Turkish TV & The Creator Economy

MIPCOM 2025: Distribution & Dealmaking, Major Studios, Turkish TV & The Creator Economy


Lucy Smith, MIPCOM’s Director called the 2025 edition “the biggest shift in a generation.” Amid the noise, here’s the real deal on MIPCOM from a Deadline team who have jointly attended more editions of the international TV fest than we care to mention.

Creators create noise

The real news is that MIPCOM is more than a creator party. Props to the market organizers RX for leaning heavily into the creator economy, brand-funded content, AI and all things next-gen. Their inclusion made this version of Cannes relevant and of-the-moment, and that is important for an event that turned 42 this week.

A steady stream of stories about deals between creators and the established media companies duly followed ­– we broke a lot of the news ­– even one about Banijay partnering with European creators to form a professional soccer team.

For sure, MIPCOM, the biggest and loudest event in international TV, had a creator focus in 2025, but the money-in-the-bank reality is that this remains a place where TV shows are bought and sold in large volume. It’s not sexy to talk about, but program deals still underpin the market and, in some cases, allow the established players to invest in new areas, such as the creator economy and AI.

Yes, deals get done

The diary of the workaday sales exec at most of the major distribs is filled with meetings with their acquisitions exec equivalent. And that’s okay. The industry needs to evolve and understand how audience behavior is changing and how a new generation of creators and labels are redefining business models, and the optics of a fest focused on the creator economy are great.

S. d’HALLOY / IMAGE&CO

The truth, however, is the industry isn’t about to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Not yet, anyway. From their impressive stands, the likes of ITV Studios, Banijay and Fremantle announced deals with new platforms and creator talent. They also did a ton of traditional sales of formats and finished shows, while networks announced new commissions that will go on to be the sales stories of MIPCOM 2026. The market is the place where, as MIPCOM’s organizers always used to say, deals get done.

Studios are back

Sony Pictures Television was in Cannes in force for the first time in a while, screening the Peacock series The Miniature Wife for the first time. Head honcho Keith Le Goy, a MIPCOM regular, told an audience “the next phase of IP” would be led by anime and video games.

Paramount, meanwhile, brought Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green to town, for their new procedural Boston Blue. The pair really know how to sell a show. Quizzed on stage by Deadline, Wahlberg said he’s dreaming of Boston Blue-meets-Blue Bloods feature film. They may not get the critical acclaim, but CBS’s production-line of procedurals remains popular the world over, and by extension selling them remains good business. Buyers told us they like the new show. In a similar vein, Paramount Global Content Distribution introduced the market to The F Ward, an Australian medical drama starring Anna Friel that CBS Studios is producing with Stan and Roadshow Rough Diamond.

Paramount’s new international chief, Kevin Maclellan, was in town. He cut a popular figure at the Boston Blue red carpet event, with execs from within the ranks presumably keen to impress the new boss as he formulates strategy. We’re also hearing of new senior hires at Paramount, so stay tuned for more. Chatter about the potential Warner Bros Discovery takeover abounded, with a majority of the folks we talked to connected with the companies seeing both the upsides (scale, formidable brands and so on) and the downsides (the layoffs that will inevitably follow).

J. GORIN / IMAGE&CO

TIFF reaches out

The Toronto International Film Festival was also on the ground. If you’ve been to Cannes for the film fest and MIPCOM you’ll know these are two events separated by a common language. TIFF wants to join the dots with its new TIFF: The Market event that kicks off in 2026. Has there ever been a market that truly spans film and TV? We don’t think so, but that’s the plan. Full disclosure, Deadline and TIFF worked together on a networking event in Cannes as the latter continued its outreach to TV buyers and sellers. In a world awash with events, setting up a new must-attend market is a challenge, but the film fest in Toronto has the wind in its sails and it’s a buzzy place to be come September.

Turkey time

Turkish TV is among the best selling in the world, and that has been reflected in recent years by the numbers of glitzy parties thrown by Turkish distributors, and the number of big Turkish stars heading to the Croisette. This ramped up this year.

Global Agency, the Istanbul-based distributor known for its noisy approach to marketing, kicked off the week by calling on a private jet to whisk 50 buyers, stars Özge Özpirinçci and Sliah Bademci, and others across the Ligurian Sea for a premiere of its drama series A Mother’s Oath. Another melodramatic series, Dynasty of Love, got an almost equally over-the-top launch on Wednesday night with a huge party at the Palm Beach club back on the Croisette. More stars were in town and more buzz was created. Deadline had just flown back to the UK, so we missed the festivities (boo), but avoided the fuzzy head the following morning (yay).

AI on the prize

Last but not least, numerous people asked us why, if you want to have a conversation around AI, was Tilly Norwood (or at Eline Van der Velden and her company Particle 6, which created Tilly) in town? Not addressing the biggest AI story in entertainment was a missed opportunity several people told us.

The UK crowd were, of course, gossiping about who the new boss of pubcaster Channel 4 would be. One source told us All3Media boss Jane Turton is frontrunner. Word is she has previously been sounded out for the BBC Director General job and passed, so would running smaller PSB outfit C4 work? Well, as former boss Alex Mahon showed, they pay more.



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Nathan Pine

I focus on highlighting the latest in business and entrepreneurship. I enjoy bringing fresh perspectives to the table and sharing stories that inspire growth and innovation.

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