CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
From Story to Scale.
IP. Audiences. Business.
Explore the Conversations Driving the Future of Entertainment
Technology, changing audiences and new business models are transforming how entertainment is created, financed, distributed and monetised.
At MIPCOM, the global entertainment industry comes together to understand that change and turn it into opportunity.
MIP HEADLINERS
Hear from the leaders shaping global entertainment.
MIP Headliners bring influential executives, creators and innovators to the Grand Auditorium for exclusive conversations on content, audiences, technology and the future of the entertainment business.
Pre-Opening Headliner with Dhar Mann Studios
Dhar Mann and Sean Atkins, CEO of Dhar Mann Studios, will explore how an audience-first creator business can build IP around deeply engaged global communities, scale positive storytelling, and forge new models of partnerships between creators, brands and the wider entertainment industry.
Sunday 11 October | 17:00–1745
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Dhar Mann
Founder, Dhar Mann Studios
Sean Atkins
CEO, Dhar Mann Studios
UTOPAI STUDIOS
The Big AI Keynote
Connecting Silicon Valley and Hollywood to Take Local Stories Global
Discover how some of the world’s most recognised entertainment brands - including Bluey, Doctor Who, Dancing with the Stars and BBC Earth - are developed, expanded and built for audiences around the world.
Monday 12 October | 11:20–11:50
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Cecilia Shen
Co-Founder and CEO, Utopai Studios
Ken Oh
Content CEO, CJ ENM Studios
Cynthia Littleton
co-Editor in Chief, Variety
BBC & BBC Studios
From Idea to Global IP: Building Brands That Last
Discover how some of the world’s most recognised entertainment brands - including Bluey, Doctor Who, Dancing with the Stars and BBC Earth - are developed, expanded and built for audiences around the world.
Tuesday 13 October | 12:00–12:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Kate Phillips
Chief Content Officer, BBC
Zai Bennett
CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Global Content, BBC Studios
Shelley Macintyre
CEO, Brands & Licensing, BBC Studios
YouTube
Redefining Broadcast: The RTL + YouTube Partnership
Featuring Stephan Schmitter (CEO of RTL Deutschland) and Pedro Pina (VP of YouTube EMEA), and moderated by media cartographer Evan Shapiro, the discussion will dissect the economics of hyperdistribution and co-monetization.
Monday 12 October | 12:00–12:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Pedro Pina
Vice President, YouTube EMEA
Stephan Schmitter
CEO of RTL Deutschland
Evan Shapiro
Media Cartographer, ESHAP
Dentsu
Small Screens, Big Impact: Inside the Vertical Drama Boom
This session brings together dentsu, Meta and a Brand Partner to look at what is actually working, which formats hold attention, how creator audiences travel between them, and where the real openings sit for brands wanting to reach viewers who no longer distinguish between a series and a scroll.
Monday 12 October | 16:15 - 16:45
⚲ Grand Auditorium
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Cathy Boxall
Global Head of Entertainment, Dentsu
The Global Debut of Cinemalistics
The creator of the CSI television franchise introduces Cinemalistics and its AI-enabled approach to transforming breaking true-crime stories into cinematic and documentary experiences.
Tuesday 13 October | 10:00–10:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Anthony E. Zuiker
Creator of the CSI Television Franchise
The Partnership Flywheel: YouTube x NBCUniversal
The discussion will explore how the two companies are working together to reach and engage consumers, alongside broader trends shaping content, distribution and media partnerships.
Tuesday 13 October | 15:30–16:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Matt Schnaars
President, Platform Distribution & Partnerships, NBCUniversal
Justin Connolly
Vice President YouTube Global Head of Media & Sports, YouTube / Google
PIVOT! Why Every Entertainment Company Needs a Vertical Strategy
This session brings together the platforms, studios and networks driving that shift to unpack what's actually working: how content is produced, distributed and monetized in vertical format, what it takes to build (or acquire) an audience there, and where traditional entertainment companies are getting it right, or getting left behind.
Wednesday 14 October | 11:00–11:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Anatolii Kasianov
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, HOLYWATER TECH
Tanya Cohen
Co-CEO, Made By Us Studios
Sammie Hao
Head of Talent and Business Development, Crazy Maple Studio
Scott Roxborough
European Bureau Chief, The Hollywood Reporter
Variety Vanguard Award
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will receive the 2026 Variety Vanguard Award and join Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton for an exclusive on-stage conversation.
Monday 12 October | 17:00–17:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Bela Bajaria
Chief Content Officer, Netflix
Cynthia Littleton
co-Editor in Chief, Variety
Building Fan Culture Together
This conversation would look at how that partnership plays out in practice through TikTok and Disney’s collaboration, and what it shows about where fan engagement and studio storytelling are headed together.
Tuesday 13 October | 16:00–16:30
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Dennis Papirowski
Global Head of Content, TikTok
The Whole Consumer: Following Audiences From the Couch to the Loo
Armed with brand new, exclusive research, The Media Cartographer will unveil a reinvented Map of the Media Universe, charting total audience attention across every screen. Having been first to predict that YouTube would be television, Shapiro now shows what comes next, now.
Wednesday 14 October | 10:30–11:00
⚲ Grand Auditorium
Evan Shapiro
Media Cartographer, ESHAP