About a month after confirming physical editions for the fall, Reed Midem has announced that MIPCOM and its preceding weekend event MIP Junior will be folded into a concurrent three-day format dubbed MIPCOM Rendezvous Cannes, taking place October 12-14 (Mon.-Wed.) — a day less than previously anticipated.

As part of the changes meant to mitigate ongoing COVID-19 risks, the familiar sea of exhibition stands in and around the Palais des Festival will not be part of the markets this year. The show floor will instead be an open-space lounge for in-person business meetings. The event will also offer a curated program of conferences and screenings.

Building on Reed Midem’s own pivot to a virtual spring confab with MIPTV Online+ (and the wide-rippling seismic shift to online festivals and conferences around the world this year), the event will hybridize its plans by offering a new digital compliment, MIPCOM Online+.

“We want to help the international television community get back to business and the combination of face-to-face at MIPCOM Rendezvous Cannes and digital MIPCOM Online+ makes this possible,” said Laurine Garaude, Television Division Director for Reed Midem. “We understand that some people will be unable to travel to Cannes, so they can be part of the MIPCOM experience digitally. New health and safety guidelines meant considerable disruption and extra costs for exhibitors and their stands, so we decided there will be no exhibition stands at MIPCOM Rendezvous Cannes.” Major studios have been announcing they would skip the fall markets due to concerns about the pandemic. These include Sony Pictures Television, Fremantle, BBC Studios and ITV Studios. The run of negative headlines prompted further updates to MIP’s safety plans.

Exhibitors who had already booked a stand for MIPCOM 2020 will be offered refunds or credits for the Rendezvous of future MIP markets.