ProgramBuyer to Launch Free Virtual Content Showcase

Online screening portal ProgramBuyer will launch a free digital service uniting buyers and sellers affected by the cancellation of MipTV.

From March 30, those now unable to meet physically will be able to access the new “Mip Releases” section on the ProgramBuyer portal. Any distributor, including ProgramBuyer subscribers and non-subscribers, will be able to access new content that would have otherwise launched in Cannes during MipTV.

Information, including digital program catalogues and screeners, is being uploaded on individual distributor branded pages, with a clear search function. ProgramBuyer already has more than 75,000 hours of content from 125 buyers in their system.

The portal’s existing clients who will use the new feature include Red Arrow Studios International and Beyond Distribution, while distributors trying the service for the first time include France tv distribution, Mediterraneo Mediaset España Group and Canamedia.

Julia Schulte, SVP international sales at France tv distribution, said: “We are experiencing high demand for existing content at present and busy servicing deals, so this new function will also save us time, as it allows buyers to screen at their own convenience and then contact us directly to discuss titles that are of interest.”

“The swift addition of this new feature will help ensure that all the new programming that would have launched in Cannes can still be promoted, supplementing the ongoing marketing efforts of the distributors’ teams,” said ProgramBuyer co-founder Roz Parker.

The MipTV global content market was due to run March 28-April 2 before the coronavirus pandemic forced its cancellation. MipTV Online Plus, the market’s premium online service will also be available from March 30 and is free to all registered clients of MipTV, MipDoc and MipFormats.

ProgramBuyer.com is a free service for buyers. It does not get involved in the transaction or take a sales commission, with buyers and distributors dealing directly with each other offline.