Diversity & Inclusion are key to day-three

On day-three of MIPCOM, discussions on the FAST phenomenon gathered pace at the FAST Roundtable Breakfast; women exchanged views did some business at the International Women's Mentoring Breakfast; and at MIPTV's dedicated Diversity & Inclusion roundtable session there were frank and open discussions on representation in the industry

Don't let fear stop you from doing what you do' There was an unexpected development at the International Women's Mentoring Breakfast, organised by MIPTV with Paris-based women's organisation M diaClub'Elles, in Cannes on Wednesday.

At one of the eight mentoring tables, hosted by Caroline Petit of the United Nations - a new partner in the mentoring event - Claudia Kessler, an aerospace engineer, spoke of her ambition to put the first German woman into space. It hasn't happened yet so she decided to make a TV series about it. As Petit said in her summary, sometimes telling stories can create change . During the roundtable discussion Kessler found likely partners for her series, titled the Astronaut, about a woman whose ambition to launch the first German woman into space but who is constantly discredited by the grey masters of the European Space Organisation and the German Space Institute.

The eight mentors took turns to summarise their table's findings and conclusions with messages including: Don't let fear stop you from doing what you do ; Know your value ; Learn how to negotiate properly ; In difficult situations it's important to find an ally in the room ; and Determine what it is you want and then stick to your goals .

At the start of the session - pointing to the packed room - M diaClub'Elles founder and president, Florence Sandis said: We are a victim of our success. There are many more women here this year; we will need more mentors next year.

Mentors and mentees gathered on the steps of the Palais des Festivals after the International Women's Mentoring Breakfast

FAST is part of a wider content universe ' Following on from MIPTV's FAST & GLOBAL Summit, Wednesday morning saw a well-attended FAST Roundtable Breakfast workshop. Global Media Consult's Christian Knaebel, the session's chair, said: Originally we had planned to have around eight-to-10 tables at the event. We ended up with 22.

Speaking to the MIP Blog ahead of the session, Knaebel said the event would give delegates the opportunity to work with key executives who are currently driving innovation in the sector. The ambition for the event is that operational experience, learnings, and benchmarks are shared.

In his introduction, Knaebel referred to the rapidly-growing sector as a FAST galaxy. I like that description because it reminds us that FAST is part of a wider content universe that continues to expand. It connects to other monetisation opportunities and should never be treated as a standalone operation. You need to integrate your FAST services into other parts of your business, otherwise it won't work for you.

FAST is currently biggest in the US, but in the next phase it will gain greater traction in the international market, Knaebel said. Helping him explain the implications of this growth were table hosts including: All3Media International's Gary Woolf; Video Solutions' Philipp Rotermund; Playground TV's Daniel Nordberg; The Local Act Consultancy's Marion Ranchet; rlaxx TV's Teresa Lopez; Okast TV's C dric Monnier; Insights TV's Natalie Boot; MyZenTV's Nela Pavlouskova; ZDF's Linette Zaulich; and Media Worldwide Limited/TravelXP's Sumant Bahl.

Christian Knaebel addresses MIPTV's FAST & Global Summit

Delegates discuss diversity and inclusion There was a strong turnout for MIPTV's dedicated Diversity & Inclusion roundtable session on Wednesday morning. The format of the event saw experts in different areas of D&I host frank and open discussions on six distinct themes ranging from minority representation to neurodiversity.

Roundtable leaders for the one-hour session included Fathima Beckmann, global inclusion thought leader; Hanan Lacanster, executive producer In The Zone Films; Karim Mahdjouba, producer and director KMH Media Production; Sandra Nduna, director, sales and international distribution, Dick Clark Productions; Adrian Smith, co-founder, producer and presenter, The Three Drinkers; and Dixi Stewart, managing director, Sandstone Global.

Delegates at the D&I Roundtable on Wednesday

After six years The Traitors is an easy sell' To the casual observer, IDTV's hit format The Traitors looks like an overnight sensation. But a stimulating panel at MIPTV underlined just how much time and effort really went into creating this year's most talked about unscripted format.

Kicking off the session, IDTV creative director Jasper Hoogendoorn explained how his first discussions with the show's creator Marc Pos took place six years ago. It wasn't until 2021 that the show secured its first commission from Dutch channel RTL4 - by which time it had already been piloted and passed over by another broadcaster.

During the session, RTL director of content Peter van der Vorst said: When it came to us it was set in a desert and called Treason of Marrakesh. We liked the idea but didn't like the desert so we suggested it should be set in a castle. I then played the game in my backyard with my team and we knew straight away we had to have it.

Since then, the format has never looked back. Just this week at MIPTV, another six adaptations have been announced by All3Media International - taking the total to 20. A3MI also used MIPTV to announce a raft of tape sales for finished versions.

A3MI EVP format Nick Smith said the unusual premise of the Traitors format would have made it hard to sell off-paper, but the original Dutch versio

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