MIP Takeaways #6-12: Budget Cuts. Elvis and A-Listers. Tentpoles vs Tents. China and more

A fast-changing economic model creates anxious conversations and lots of sharing of useful information. That was the vibe along the Croisette at MIPDoc and MIPTV. An interesting takeaway from MIPDoc, is that we heard that channels with tentpole strategies are re-balancing their refocus on the tent, and are seeking affordable, advertiser-friendly series for primetime. We recently saw a strategic shift by several basic channels to double down on A-Lister, big budget, events like Genius: Picasso to propel their brands into the streaming era in competition with Netflix. There is evidence from our research that these super-specials can break through in terms of online awareness and viewing. However, this tentpole strategy drains budgets from the day-to-day primetime programming schedule that delivers audiences to advertisers. The tentpoles haven’t lifted audiences for the primetime outside the events.