Reed MIDEM has cancelled MIPTV2020 due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) concerns. The event was scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 2.

MIPDoc and MIPFormats, which were supposed to happen from March 28 to 29, have also been cancelled. CANNESERIES, the international series festival, was going to run parallel to MIPTV but has been moved to take place October 9 to 14, alongside MIPCOM.

Late last month, the French government banned all indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people. MIPTV had 9,500 attendees last year, according to Reed MIDEM.

The next MIPTV will take place on April 12 to 15, 2021 in Cannes. MIPDoc and MIPFormats will come back for April 10 to 11, 2021 and the fourth CANNESERIES will be held in April 2021.

The industry has felt the ripple effects of the ongoing outbreak, with Reed announcing it was cancelling London book fair earlier today and China’s box office losing US$1.9 billion in two months because all of its theaters have closed. Additionally, several companies have pulled out of CinemaCon and Hollywood studios are assembling strategy teams to handle any potential issues.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: When we hosted Kidscreen Summit in Miami last month, it was still early on in the outbreak and there was minimal risk with moving forward. Now, however, the landscape has changed. It’s not an easy decision to press pause on one of the most important events in the industry calendar. We applaud the leadership and concern for the entertainment community’s safety that Reed MIDEM is demonstrating, and we look forward to returning to the Croisette as soon as possible. – Jocelyn Christie