1. The Internet defeats MIP too
The international MIP fair, held every year in Cannes on France's Cote d'Azur, seems to have become another victim of the Internet tsunami. Once, in the good old days, we came to MIP to watch videos of new television programs in small, crowded viewing theaters, and then, in small, crowded meeting rooms, we negotiated over the programs we selected.
Today, watching new programs has switched to the Internet, the negotiations have switched to the Internet, and people come to MIP to meet and network. For that, there's no need to pay 1,250 euros, the price of an entry tag to the Palais des Festivals, the MIP venue. Instead, you can rendezvous at the bar-cafe of the nearby Hotel Majestic Barriere.
The MIP organizers got wise this year, and required a Palais entry tag to get into the Majestic bar as well. But at MIP, as on the Internet, the "won't pays" won. They simply moved to other hotels and cafes in Cannes.
In the '90s, there was a saying coined by an Israeli film distributor: "I have to come to MIP or they'll think I'm in jail." Next year, MIP will probably not come. MIP seems to be in jail.
2. Israeli love affair
Israelis have always loved coming to MIP. The Israeli presence at MIP was out of all proportion to the size of the Israeli market, and was similar to the representation from much larger countries.
The film industry was created in the early 20th century in Hollywood - by Jewish rag trade merchants exploiting their commercial and entrepreneurial acumen to become owners of big studios: Warner Brothers, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and others. The Israeli love of MIP probably originates in Jewish rag trade genes.
The massive Israeli presence at MIP has not changed over the years, but the proportions of buyers and sellers have changed. In the '90s, about 80% of the pilgrims to MIP were buyers. Battles between Israeli buyers were legendary at Cannes.
In the heat of passion, the representatives of the cable television companies (fair disclosure - mainly ICP, which I headed), Keshet, Reshet, Telad, the Channel 2 franchisees, and Channel 1, fell upon the major content vendors. I remember a particularly fierce battle over a BBC program package between ICP and the Reshet franchisee. At MIP 2011, I'm not that sure there was a Reshet buyer at all, and if there was, I'm sure that she did not even know where the BBC stand was.
The result of the emotional battles of the Israeli buyers of the 90s was a crazy rise in the prices of the programs and movies for the Israeli market. Although things have calmed down since then, and broadcasters have realized that the Israeli audience first and foremost wants Israeli productions, the scar remained, and prices of programs and movies for the Israeli market are very high. Perhaps we are missing some rag trade genes after all.
3. Sellers only
Unlike in the '90s, in 2011 approximately 80% of the Israelis who came to the fair came to sell formats, feature programs, documentaries, children's and lifestyle programs. Is Israel becoming a content empire? There's no doubt that the Israeli content export industry has good PR, especially in the financial press in Israel.
Israeli businesspeople apparently love reading about the sale of Israeli programs overseas, especially to the big American networks. In most cases, the headlines are much bigger than the sales turnover. I heard Adir Miller say on a panel on the subject that his share in the sale of the "Ramzor" ("Traffic Light") series (winner of the Golden Globe award) to Fox was less than he receives for a performance for Israel Electric Corporation workers.
From an economic point of view, Israeli sales in the international market are negligible, both in terms of the Israeli economy and in general. However, the good news is that Israeli sales are definitely growing, and there are certainly signs of gas.
The answer to the question whether the Israeli content industry can emulate the success of the Israeli high-tech industry is a definite yes. Israeli artists have the same qualities - creativity, boldness, imagination, ability to tell a story, and understanding of the needs of the audience - that made the film and television industry in Los Angeles, for example, what it is.
The new media, such as Internet, cell phones, and iPad applications, have generated new learning curves for a new kind of content. This is the opportunity for Israeli producers: the connection between content and technology.
What nevertheless stands between us and success? Maybe it's the lack of a "Chief Programmer" (along the lines of the Chief Scientist), maybe it's a breakthrough by one content company that will set alight the imagination of financial investors.
This content company will have to focus on international markets, unlike what happens today, with Israeli content exporters striving to sell to the international market the programs produced for the Israeli market.
4. Branding Israel through content
Export of content for any country, but particularly for Israel, is much more than an economic interest. Many countries pay a great deal of money, including to platforms such as Yes and Hot in Israel, so that their channels, their content, will be broadcast in other countries.
McDonalds and Coca Cola would not have been as successful in the global market as they have been, without the Hollywood industry that paved the way for them, through mass distribution of the values and brands of American culture.
Countries, like commercial entities, brand themselves in the era of the Internet and digital channels through content. Renault created its own digital TV channel; Malta branded itself as a resort for young people via MTV concerts; and South Africa branded itself as open and safe through a series of programs on National Geographic.
Today, the only true expression of Israeli content overseas is the content on CNN, BBC News, and Al Jazeera. The secrets of the gay-lesbian liberalism of Tel Aviv, the natural co-existence of Arabs and Jews in Haifa, the quality of life flourishing in Jerusalem, Jaffa's wealth of design, and our water technology capabilities, we keep to ourselves.
At a time when Israeli products are being withdrawn from supermarket shelves around the world because of Israel's murky image, we should think how we might look if our content industry were thriving in international markets.
The writer is owner and CEO of Ananai Tikshoret.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011