Change is in the air: on the Croisette boulevard.

Many Hong Kong firms reported signing deals, although all stressed that MIPCOM was for making initial contacts rather than for signing firm contracts, underlining the mood for charting new kinds of business relations.

Wong: better times for animation studios.

On a broader front, executives from television, digital, advertising and games industries worldwide focused on deals at hand rather than the global economic crisis, according to Laurine Garaude, Acting Director of the TV division of the show's organiser, Reed MIDEM. She pointed out that conversations at the show largely centred on rethinking business strategies.

"People have been talking about new alliances to finance production, new channel strategies to consolidate their brand position in the international market and how they are thinking about monetising [profiting from] the multi-platform potential of their content at the start of the creative process," she said.

Interest centred on the impact of online gaming on television, on new "platforms", mobile applications and many other aspects of the entertainment industry.

Cautious optimism

	Caution, go.

"Live action movies for adults may not work now, but animation is still strong," Wong of Asia Animation said. "But it can go down very fast."

Wong also noted the rapid rise of animation from the Chinese mainland. "Five years ago, there were only 10 studios in China. Now there are thousands."

Asia Animation's main offering this year, AI Football GGO, is a show for six to 15-year-olds and is timely, with the approach of the FIFA World Cup next year.

With its high-quality English dubbing, the product should sell well worldwide Wong believed. Many from Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America have inquired about the show.

Doing international business is easy now, whether by email, phone, sending discs or uploading screening tapes. But Wong said MIPCOM remains important for attracting new distributors and clients.

"There is a lot of competition, and the economy has affected the business in terms of prices world wide, including China," he added.

However, while adults may stop spending money on themselves, they will still buy things for their children's entertainment.

Hui: teenage demand rising.		Multicultural MIPCOM.

Lisa Hui, General Manager for Hong Kong's Muse, said: "there is a trend to teenage animation which will become more popular with a wide range of viewers. Even young adults like animation."

Hui, who has been attending MIPCOM for 12 years, was selling content to clients from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and even Hong Kong itself.

Muse started business negotiations at the event, and Hui was very positive. "We usually do not do deals at the market, but see clients and get offers. As long as you have good products, sales will go smoothly."

Distribution on the Mainland

Alan Wan, President of Jade Dynasty Publications Limited, said the company came in search of distribution partners for Europe and North America.

"This is my first time, but it is worth coming," Wan said. "I had no idea what to expect, but it is a huge animation market. We learn from other countries."

Hong Kong is in a good position because of the Chinese mainland market, he added. "China really needs this kind of entertainment for kids. There is big demand for animation because there are so many TV stations and mobile phones."

He sees a future for animation for mobile phones, for three- to five-minute clips, which are easy to download. "It is a different way of seeing, on the bus or the metro."

Wan: looking for partners.		The listening network.

Wan acknowledges that with so much content available free, it is difficult to set up profitable animation. "First, you have to let people know you have the titles, characters, branding," he said. "Then you move into merchandising, DVDs."

Gary Pudney of Hong Kong's Typhoon Distribution, was back at MIPCOM selling Hello Kitty and some live action movies for kids. He stressed the importance of the quality of delegates, not the quantity.

Trade shows are for people coming to meet and greet and get to know one another, Pudney said. "This is networking, listening, getting to know the market."

"Animation is a very crowded space," he added, but anticipated a major consolidation in the business. "Brands will become more important, while new ideas, concepts and titles will go by the wayside."

Pudney: brands are the key.		Tam: focused on licenses.

English language TV and animation producer Dream Tube Entertainment's Marketing Director is Tommy Tam, who stressed the importance of merchandising and licensing. "All shows have a product attached to it. We are highly focused on producing backpacks, children's toys, a number of other products."

At MIPCOM, Tam met with the major US company Toys"R"Us which is interested in his product.

Alfred Tse, Manager of Art Tech Holdings, is looking for a world wide market for its animation work.

"The volume of production from Japan has gone down in the past few years, and quality productions do not come up very often," said Tse.

Attendance up

MIPCOM attendance was up.

With companies from 103 countries represented, the event represents the whole spectrum of the international entertainment community.

Some 45 conference sessions dealt with a variety of topics, such as online gaming and the impact of "connected entertainment" on the TV industry.

A MIPCOM panel dealing with mobile applications noted that revenue sources were diverse. Users would pay for applications they trusted and which met their needs, the panellists said.

Speakers on a forum about monetisation of online content said consumers had to understand that they would eventually have to pay for content. However, they had to get a lot of content free to keep them coming back, before they were committed.

MIPCOM ended, appropriately, with a look into the future from Gavin McGarry, President of the cross-media consulting firm Jumpwire Media. He had some stimulating thoughts.

McGarry looked at the merging of traditional media with Internet video, mobile-led companies and social media.

Citing the success of iTunes, McGarry said that if consumers can get products they want in an easier way, they'll pay for it.

TV is an eroding marketplace for audiences, although not as fast as everyone thinks, he added. But the constant change in media alignments is a problem for advertisers who now wonder where they should put their money.

McGarry said digital media is still disrupting traditional media, but he found signs of "emerging revenue streams". One example was the "freemium" model, where users are tempted with free content, then invited to pay for "add ons" and enhanced functions. As a general rule, he said, some 10% of people will pay for these.

from special correspondent Garry Marchant, Cannes