As ever, FRAPA will be hosting its bi-yearly Summit down in Cannes, which is open to anybody, FRAPA member or not, who wants to tap into the shows, trends and players that are setting the format industry’s agenda.
The programme kicks off at 09.00 on Tuesday, April 18 with two on-stage conversations between a FRAPA board member and a prominent buyer, who will “articulate their vision of the marketplace and the needs of their platform”, in the words of FRAPA co-chair Jan Salling, head of BBC Studios Nordics.
First up is Joe Mace, ITV UK’s commissioning editor for entertainment, who will be interviewed by Nick Smith, All3Media International’s executive vice-president of formats, followed by Alex Adamo, TV4 Sweden’s senior developer and format manager, who will talk to Salling.
The Q&As will be followed by one the week’s centrepiece events for all those involved in formatted entertainment: K7 Media’s round-up of the shows and genres most likely to spawn the Next Big Thing in 2023, presented by David Ciaramella, head of communication at global media consultancy.
FRAPA board member Lisette van Diepen finishes up the Q&A sessions with an interview with Michael von Würden, who we all know as the developer of Married at First Sight, in Cannes to launch his latest format, Stranded on Honeymoon Island.
The Summit also offers ample opportunity to “mix, mingle and swap cards”, Salling adds: “Networking is one of the Summit’s highlights. In addition to the panelists, FRAPA’s board members will be out in force and happy to share their advice and insights with all comers. And because FRAPA is as much a family as an industry association, it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.”
FRAPA’s attendance at MIPTV is a prime opportunity to promote its mission and its services, both of which have been expanding under the co-chairship of Gurin and Salling. These days, Gurin says, FRAPA’s remit is as much about “advocating, educating and innovating” as it is about IP protection. “The value and ownership of intellectual property underpins the global ecosystem of unscripted content,” he adds. “If people don’t understand and respect that, there is no formats business — no Voice, no Survivor, no Wheel Of Fortune. So we advocate for good business practice, we educate on how best to protect IP and we innovate new products and services to help small to medium-sized producers break into the formats business.”
The FRAPA Summit starts at 09.00 on Tuesday, April 18 in the Riviera, Marguerite space of the Palais des Festivals, Cannes.