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A new virtuous circle is emerging for media and entertainment giants that promises to harness the advantages of disparate platforms, digital and linear, powered by the connective tissue of YouTube.
This was one of the
dominant themes that emerged in four whirlwind days of panel sessions, closed door meetings, networking and schmoozing events up and down the Croisette as top industry players from Europe and beyond gathered in Cannes for the annual Mipcom content market and conference.
The growing muscle that YouTube flexes as the video crossroads of the world was a near-constant subject of conversation. Google’s streaming behemoth is becoming ever more integral to media development, distribution and marketing plans for most contenders in media, from the biggest Hollywood studios to indie startups.
Evan Shapiro, the respected industry analyst who is often billed as a “media cartographer,” gave a well-attended presentation on Wednesday morning that drew together threads probed in various tracks of the conference. Shapiro’s session offered sobering stats about the changing nature of viewing audiences. The older contingent of media and entertainment leaders have to come to grips with the fact that the world’s population is getting younger. That means they need to cater to consumers who have come of age with technology in their pockets and a very different worldview on how, when and why they consume media in across different mediums and platforms.
At the same time, Shapiro pointed to hope on the horizon for legacy media outlets.
“We believed television would be replaced by streaming 1 for 1 — that didn’t happen,” he said. Streaming and social video have augmented viewing time and even more important, they help deepen fan connection to their favorite shows. Shapiro emphasized more than once that media giants courting audiences need to think in terms of generations and affinity groups, not the age and gender demos of yore.
“Now consumers have an infinite number of channels. Every human with a phone is a channel,” Shapiro said. It’s the age of “personalized television through a combination of your phone and your television set.”
Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships for NBCUniversal, reinforced Shapiro’s observations in a separate session.
“The embracing of social media platforms, starting with YouTube, to drive people back to live viewing, we see that in results. We see that in audiences,” Schnaars said. “When we look at YouTube … [they] are an example of somebody who’s in really every business that we’re in, but not in a way that’s competitive. It’s accretive and incremental. And so we get excited.”
NBCUniversal is windowing some of its most prized, fan-favorite content – college football – on YouTube. The Peacock streaming platform shares its weekly exclusive games on YouTube. In the old days, that would have been unheard of. Today, it’s about reaching fans where they live. Peacock earlier this year struck an innovative distribution pact to be bundled as part of a YouTube TV premium tier.
“It can build habituation, and then ultimately, hopefully, a purchase of Peacock or going to YouTube TV even to go experience the full slate,” Schnaars said.
Like NBCU, the BBC sees enormous potential in the Beeb’s experiments to date with the FAST channels that are fast becoming a new form of syndication.
“YouTube for me is exciting because it’s where a lot of the audience are now,” said Kate Phillips, chief content officer at BBC Studios. She noted that the Beeb now has 34channels on YouTube, increasing to 50 by the end of 2028.
Leaders from Germany’s RTL Deutschland unpacked their partnership with YouTube at a Mipcom session. Executives said the free streaming platform has given new life to its long-running action series “Cobra 11.” After uploading more than 200 episodes, RTL generated 30 million views on YouTube, helping drive a 123% increase in first video views for the series on RTL+ and a 26% rise in subscriptions linked to the show. ITV has also partnered with YouTube, while France’s TF1, M6 and France Télévisions have struck distribution deals with global streaming giants, including Netflix and Amazon.
Justin Connolly, YouTube’s global head of media and sports, stressed that YouTube is prospering as it becomes more intertwined in the pay-TV eco system through YouTube TV. And YouTube (as well as TikTok) is essential to most of the creator-led content ventures that are proliferating.
“We only win when our partners win,” Connolly said.
In addition to exploring the new nexus of streaming and linear, Mipcom delivered some classic moments. Christie Brinkley, the 1980s supermodel, was here to pitch her docu-series “Uptown Girl: The Christie Brinkley Story” for Fox Global Distribution. The revival of “Baywatch” made a splash on the Cote d’Azur with the photo call featuring Stephen Amell and his shapely costar Brooks Nader.
Here are other trends and themes that emerged from this year’s conference:
Consolidation
As Hollywood grapples with consolidation, cost-cutting and a slowdown in production, French entertainment giants are seizing the opportunity to expand their footprint in the U.S., either through acquisitions or by exploring new investments.
Fresh off its merger with British powerhouse All3Media, Banijay Entertainment is eyeing an expansion into the U.S. scripted market. Speaking at Mipcom, CEO Marco Bassetti and chairman Jeff Zucker said the newly enlarged group had the financial firepower to pursue opportunities in Hollywood, where it has yet to establish a major scripted production business.
Mediawan, meanwhile, is already making moves. After acquiring Peter Chernin’s North Road Company earlier this year, the Paris-based group has teamed with Reese Witherspoon to buy Hello Sunshine from Blackstone-backed Candle Media at a steep discount to its $900 million valuation in 2021. The deal further expands Mediawan’s Hollywood portfolio, which also includes Brad Pitt’s Plan B.
Latin America’s Growth Spurt
Beyond microdramas, where on earth can growth come from in the current TV landscape? With a swing to far-right populism, local production is being put through a political grinder, first in Javier Milei’s Argentina who decimated public-sector subsidies. Now Brazilian cinema is at risk. As a market, however, Latin America paints a different picture. The region is forecast to grow by 15.4% to $62 billion in revenues, exceeding the U.S. growth rate of 10.2%, Omdia’s María Rua Aguete, announced at Mipcom, presenting research and calling Latin America “one of the most exciting growth opportunities in global media and entertainment.” The driver?: online video, led by Netflix. The challenge? Connectivity.
Global Political Peril
For all the talk of consolidation and streaming at Mipcom, another major concern was looming over the television industry: the changing political landscape and the rise of far-right parties that are challenging public broadcasters across Europe.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is leading presidential polls ahead of the 2027 election and has called for a sweeping overhaul of public broadcasting, including privatization. In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is also gaining ground and wants to abolish the license fee that finances public broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Meanwhile, Brazil is heading into a fiercely contested presidential runoff between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
Against this backdrop, public broadcasters are stepping up efforts to defend their relevance, reach younger audiences and strengthen their presence on digital platforms, where a growing share of voters get their news.
France Télévisions has forged a major partnership with YouTube, where its franceinfo news channel generated 110 million views in September, eight times its audience a year earlier. In Germany, ARD’s Tagesschau and ZDF’s ZDFheute are also distributing news on YouTube and developing formats aimed at younger viewers.
The stakes go well beyond audience figures. At a time of growing political polarization and disinformation, public broadcasters are seeking to reinforce their role as trusted, independent sources of news — while ensuring they remain relevant to the next generation.
Creators Gonna Create
Prolific creator Dhar Mann – who has more than 170 million followers across all social platforms – spoke about his vision for Creator City in Los Angeles, which will open in February when L.A. hosts the NFL’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. The four-acre campus will house nine sound stages. “We’re going to have about 175 sets. It’s going to be able to have about 15 concurrent productions happening at the same time,” he explained. “All the sets are actual brands. So, when you see content being created, it’s not just a random coffee shop – it could be a Starbucks. It’s not just a random retail store – it could be a Target.”
True Crime is Killing it
In “Killing a Bear,” a true-facts based murder mystery at Mipcom, the victim is a Pyrenean brown bear whose death sparks the first criminal investigation in Spain for an animal’s suspected slaughter. Crime repped 27% of scripted TV orders globally, first half 2026 – the single most commissioned TV genre, estimates Ampere Analysis, and a whopping 61% of the No 1 series at Mipcom from many of the world’s biggest players. Whether “Cupertino’s” “whip-smart tour of AI insanity” or John Hannah as a crimebuster in sunny but shady Benidorm, some shows at least aim to stand out from the crowd.
