Prosiebensat.1, Newen, ITV Studios, & Award-Winning Writer Jed Mercurio Join Mipcom 2019 Stellar Keynote Line-Up

Reed MIDEM announces four more keynote speakers for its MIPCOM 2019 conference. Max Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1, Bibiane Godfroid, CEO, Newen, Maria Kyriacou, President, ITV Studios International, and Jed Mercurio, Screenwriter and Showrunner join the line-up of industry names bringing their perspective to this year’s theme “The Streaming Offensive”.
 
MIPCOM, the world’s entertainment content market, takes place in Cannes from 14-17 October 2019. Under the umbrella theme of “The Streaming Offensive”, the conference will bring sharp focus to the seismic changes in global distribution models, their impact on content production and licensing, and the global response to the direct-to-consumer challenge.  The keynote speakers announced today bring a wealth of experience from across the spectrum of the industry from digital services and platforms to international acquisitions, world-class content and A-list talent. 
 
Joyn is Germany’s largest freemium streaming platform offering live streams of 55 public and private free TV channels as well as several originals and exclusive series in one app. This winter, the premium version with an additional subscription model will follow. In a keynote speech on Monday 14 October, Max Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1, will explain why this offer – a joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery – is unique in Germany, discuss the role of Joyn in ProSiebenSat.1’s digital strategy and share some insights of how local content remains key to win with audiences.
 
Newen, part of the TF1 Group, is France’s leading producer of audiovisual content, working in every genre on the full spectrum of channels and platforms.  It has broadened its reach on the domestic and global markets with the acquisition of stakes in production outfits Tuvalu Media (Netherlands), Pupkin (Netherlands), Nimbus (Denmark), De Mensen (Belgium) and Reel One (Canada). Bibiane Godfroid, Newen’s CEO, will talk about the Group’s ambitions and greatest challenge in a keynote speech on Tuesday 15 October entitled “How to keep endlessly adapting in order to offer the best possible content on an ever-changing audiovisual landscape?”.
 
Maria Kyriacou, President of ITV Studios International, oversees ITV Studios’ production companies across Europe and Australia, its growing US scripted business and ITV Studios international distribution arm, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, which distributes over 45,000 hours of prestigious content to 3,000 broadcasters around the world.
 
During a keynote titled “The evolution of television – shaping culture around the world”, on Wednesday 17 October, Maria Kyriacou will discuss the way that content can connect with audiences on a deeper level –  from Love Island (the world’s most tweeted about reality show ever) which has defied the trend for young adult audiences moving away from linear television, to dramas like Noughts + Crosses, which offers a thought-provoking lens on racism and prejudice, and World on Fire, which tells the story of the ordinary families caught up in events which were not of their making during World War Two. In this session Maria will look at what it takes to move hearts and minds and why it matters.
 
Jed Mercurio, a four-time nominee as Best Drama Writer for both the Royal Television Society and Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, is one of the few British screenwriters to work as a showrunner. His most recent productions, the serial award-winners Bodyguard and Line of Duty, have broken audience records in the UK, with Line of Duty being nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards. Jed’s other credits include Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Critical, Strike Back, RTS Award-winning Bodies, The Grimleys and Cardiac Arrest.
 
In his keynote session, titled “Talent Behind the Camera”, Jed Mercurio will discuss writers’ and showrunners’ many responsibilities as they write and/or executive produce, supervise other writers, manage talent and maintain relationships with studios, channels and platforms. At the end of the session on Wednesday 17 October, Jed Mercurio will be presented with a WORLD SCREEN TRENDSETTER AWARD, in partnership with MIPCOM, in recognition of his contribution to the international television industry.
 
These speakers join James Farrell, Head of International Originals for Amazon Studios; Farhad Massoudi, CEO/Founder and Adam Lewinson, Chief Content Officer of TUBI; and Twitter’s Kay M. Madati, Global VP and Head of Content Partnership, announced as keynote speakers for MIPCOM 2019 last month.
 
About Reed MIDEM – Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is an organiser of professional, international markets that are essential business platforms for key players in the sectors concerned. These sectors are MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, MIPJUNIOR in Cannes, MIP China in Hangzhou and MIP Cancun in Mexico for the television and digital content industries; MIDEM in Cannes for music professionals; Esports BAR in Cannes and in Miami for the esports business; MIPIM in Cannes, MIPIM UK in London, MIPIM Asia Summit in Hong Kong and MIPIM PropTech Summit in New York for the real estate industry; MAPIC in Cannes, MAPIC Russia in Moscow, MAPIC Italy in Milan, MAPIC China Summit in Shanghai and IRF brought by MAPIC in Mumbai for the retail real estate sector.
 
About Reed Exhibitions – Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading event’s organiser, with over 500 events in over 30 countries. In 2018 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 38 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.reedexpo.com