How Mipcom 2025 provided a new perspective

Landing in Cannes for Mipcom this year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I’m walking away re-energised and optimistic about where our industry is headed.

A new momentum has taken hold and the industry is showing grit and adaptability in new ways to finance content and find new audiences.

Big IP, YouTube, brand funding and microdramas were major content themes that dominated the trades and captured the market’s attention with new possibilities.

I was also coming to Mipcom with a Blue Ant Media team that is more integrated than ever across our global streaming and studios businesses, which allowed me to see first-hand how our production and platform partners are incorporating new trends in real ways.

IP hunters

Everyone is on the hunt for hot IP. Broadcasters and streamers are hungry for marketable IP with built-in audiences that will drive discoverability. As a result, content creators, social media influencers and brands coming to market with their own studios divisions had a palpable presence. Reboots, reimaginations and formats were everywhere and continue to be a reliable source for bankable, scalable IP. Finding fresh, relevant formats that can also lead to spin-offs and fandom series are not only cost-effective development opportunities, they also build communities and audience engagement on and off screen. Brands have become an increasingly important stakeholder in the ecosystem and developing meaningful relationships with them around content has become a priority.

Partnerships are everything

Amid all the change, one constant theme emerged: partnerships are everything. The conversations - from the Palais to the Croisette - reinforced how trusted relationships remain the bedrock of this business. No matter what industry trend may be rising, meeting after meeting reinforced that deep partnerships are really valued in this market, especially from buyers who rely more and more on trusted partners they can work with and come back to in multiple ways. From cost cutting and reducing resources to creative financing and flexible rights agreements, great partnerships offer the short hand that keeps us coming back to each other and ultimately brings projects to market. I saw on so many occasions that having a multi-dimensional integrated offering across our business units and being able to provide real, customizable solutions is creating long term value for both us and our partners.

Co-financing and windowing flex

One of the most encouraging shifts was the reimagining of financing models. Platforms are buying again and they are breaking down legacy models in order to do it. Broadcasters and streamers who had traditionally been single financiers looking for exclusive rights are embracing co-financing and windowing more than ever. The urgency to do more with less is also sparking innovative and bespoke co-financing opportunities where multiple parties can share both the investment and the upside. There is a refreshing willingness to share rights, particularly when it allows all partners to manage costs more effectively. We found that being nimble and agile with both creators and buyers, can put you in a really strong position to navigate challenging content genres, like kids and family programming, or vastly changing landscapes, like male-skewing factual. Our team saw on more than one occasion that great creative at an attractive price point can generate quick response and action, particularly in the U.S. market.

It’s official: YouTube is TV

YouTube is officially the largest content platform on the market and you have to be there. This year, I saw a turning point in how buyers are seeing YouTube less as a threat and more of a necessity to their traditional linear strategy, as an audience driver, an IP incubator, and a strategic window. However, while there is an understanding that YouTube is now a major part of the equation, the conversations around the market continue to question how the model holds up to the investment it needs. How do we make it work in the long-term for originals? Is the ad-market going to support the investment required? And with more challenging monetisation opportunities in the kids space, how does new high quality content keep getting made?

A trend to watch

Microdramas and vertical video has everyone from start-ups to legacy media brands clamouring to get involved and figure out how this trend fits into their strategies. YA content - a trending genre in its own right - is thriving in this space and while the format may be a scripted play at the moment, how this trend moves into unscripted is something to watch, along with how traditional financing models can pivot to work in this new space.

If Mipcom 2025 proved anything, it’s that our industry isn’t just evolving, it’s actively reinventing itself.

From creative deal-making to new formats, platforms and IP strategies, the energy on the ground was a reminder that adaptability, innovation and trusted collaboration are the keys to thriving in this moment. As the lines between traditional and digital continue to blur, those of us willing to think flexibly, act quickly and partner deeply are not just navigating change, we’re leading it.

Diane Rankin is exec vice president of content development and commercial strategy at Canada’s Blue Ant Studios