Where did the month go?

Time has been just flying by. The last couple of weeks have been crazy as we have been getting ready for MIPCOM in October. Then, of course, AFM is right after in November.

I may have touched on this before, but there is an interesting distinction between TV Markets and Film Markets. I started out working in Acquisitions for a home video distributor, so I was used to the vibe of Film Markets. Important film markets are AFM, Cannes, and Berlin. Mostly the film markets are less formal, with people walking around with ponytails and flip flops. Sure, you still have the professional people in suits, but there is more of a relaxed air. The type of programming at film markets tends toward the genre stuff like horror, thriller, etc. It's mostly regional distributors and DVD distributors, with the occasional TV buyers for some of the bigger films.

The TV markets, like MIPCOM, MIPTV, and NATPE, are strictly suit and tie and very professional. The other distributors attend, but mostly it's broadcasters from around the world looking from programming. There you will find everything from series, TV movies and formats (where they sell the concept to a distributor who will create a localized version.) The culture shock between the two markets was pretty pronounced for me coming from the film market world to the button up world of TV markets.

That's kind of the difference in a nutshell. The line between the two is blurring as more DVD distributors are attending the TV markets and more broadcasters are attending the film markets.

Overall, there's been a proliferation of film markets and festivals over the past couple of years. It seems like every month we're getting invited to go to yet another market or festival. But I honestly don't see the reason to meet with the same broadcaster I met with only a month ago. With email and websites and streaming trailers, there is less and less reason to meet with someone every other week. We can meet two or three times a year face to face and do the rest of our business via email. Not only is it more cost efficient, it uses less resources and doesn't increase our carbon footprint.

The 2008 Olympics

Not much to update around here. I've just been sitting at home with the A/C cranked up and watching the Olympics. Overall NBC has done a good job in terms of the broadcast. I'd say the quality this year is definitely superior to Athens. But then, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the time difference. When we are watching in prime time, the events are being broadcast live or relatively recent. In Athens, the time difference made it weird, with live events at 2 in the morning. Although, there are some people upset by the timing of the broadcasts with NBC withholding the more important events until prime time for the ratings. But you can't please everyone. If they only broadcast everything live then people would be complaining because they couldn't see the good stuff since most people work during the day. Just goes to show you can't please everyone.

NBC has also done a great job of building up the drama. Will Michael Phelps go for a world record? Will he beat Mark Spitz' record? Will the male gymnastic team recover from losing its top two athletes? Just watching the 400m Men's Relay had me on the edge of my seat, cheering for the Americans. And part of it was because of the drama of the war of the words from the French team. And partly because they were the underdogs. And also because of that last bit of speed at the end when they came from almost a full length behind. Also, I think Zhang Yimou deserves all that praise for the opening ceremonies, despite the little cheats.

Overall, the ratings for the Beijing Olympics have been higher than the past two Summer Olympics. The question is whether they will be able to keep that interest once the swimming events are over and we are onto track and field. Without the draw of Michael Phelps, will there still be high interest in the games? Or will they find other American athletes to hype and build buzz around? I guess only time will tell.