Most people’s first visit to Cannes and a MIP or MIPCOM is likely filled with a lot of expectations. More than a few surprises, too (how about that exchange rate this year).

I’m a NATPE veteran of 30-plus years now, and was used to the biblically spacious convention halls, booths and amenities, and I was lucky enough to stay in some of the finest convention hotels in the land. So it took some readjusting when I hit the ground and took my place among the first-timers over here. Two-star hotel. Distractions from the other 10 people in a closet-sized booth. Then there’s that whole language thing.

But hotel and booth size, and, for that matter, all those years of experience aside, one thing hits me about the selling of programs at the MIPs: the democracy of it all. There seems to be a great willingness of the part of the buyers to check out EVERYTHING, no matter the source. And this is true now more than ever.

What surprised me was that, for the most part, buyers did not take note of the size of your booth or even the recognition factor of your company. Buyers went to Cannes looking for programmes and who cared where the next idea came from? The studios and majors were all over the place, but there was a whole lot of walking around and, for lack of a better word, shopping.

In the 1990s, just as global television was expanding like crazy, buyers galore were cruising the Palais to fill all the liberated or new channels out there. And the smart buyers then, as now, make some time to stroll the halls and see if there might be any hidden gems from companies they have never heard of.

That’s what impressed me the most then – and now. We had a piece of a piece of a both, but still managed to sell lots of programmes and establish some valuable relationships. Not because we had the best programmes, or sales people who could tackle walk-bys well, but because the buyers, the smart ones anyway, took the time to dig a little deeper and see what else was out there.

That may very well be why MIP and MIPCOM continue to grow, because of a buying atmosphere that encourages browsing in a global marketplace that is as hungry as ever.

Yeah, yeah, there’s broadband, mobile and whatever, but no-one knows how to really make money on those yet, at least not from a producer/distributor view. It’s the good ol’ fashioned industry growth that’s doing it. What was once one channel/customer, might now be three or four new channels and that’s great news for all distribs, but especially for the so-called little guy.

The challenge is monetizing the whole thing. It’s not like prices have gone up. Revenue (indeed, a profit), once obtained from a few coproducers, now has to be cobbled together with a commissioner, a couple copro partners, some optimistic projections and even then, it can be a crap shoot.

But we’re all here and there and more of us annually – all trying to figure out how to make the most money, or make the most of the company’s money. I submit that the only way to do that is not to get locked in to a few sources of programming. The best programmers I’ve met don’t let that happen. The channels that have struggled usually respond to a new pitch by saying, “We usually do business with just a few trusted producers”. The best programmers think: “We need more voices, more points of view”. The best think: “I gotta check out these guys, I might be launching a new channel soon, and they might be a new source”.

It’s a state of mind. Many buyers lock themselves in their company’s own booths or suite, never breathing the fresh air of new ideas. But now, more than ever, it’s new ideas and new producers who breathe life into programme schedules.

The US election candidates’ favourite buzz word is ‘change’. But at MIP, the buzz word ought to be ‘democracy’ where every idea and company has a shot, thanks to the open minds of buyers who vote with their time and pocketbooks, hopefully, together, building a stronger ‘nation’ as a result.

So, during an election year here in the US, this is a good time to salute the kind of a market where, big or small, new or experienced, buyers treat the exhibitors and seller with a sense of openness.

Read past entries by Gary Lico