MipTV: French TV embraces risk to stay relevant in digital era

France’s top broadcasters and producers took centre stage at this year’s MipTV, stressing the need for greater risk-taking and collaboration.

France is the ‘Country of Honour’ at the programme sales market, and the country’s biggest TV players were on hand to discuss how to stay relevant against the might of global tech platforms like Netflix and changing media consumption habits.

Creating a scale play by growing through acquisition is still driving a lot of media company agendas in France.

Indeed, the open rumour of the MipTV market was about at what price, not if, France’s Banijay Group, would seal a deal to buy production heavyweight Endemol Shine.

Speaking on a panel at MipTV, Banijay chairman Stephane Courbit declined to comment on the rumour; Banijay had been in the bidding for Endemol Shine before the Black Mirror-producer’s owners 21^st Century Fox (now part of Disney) and Apollo Global Management called off the sales process after failing to agree terms a few months ago.

But scale is not the only way to future proof your business. “We have been focusing heavily on how to…