MIPCOM Cannes 2026 Expands Streaming And Digital Focus

MIPCOM Cannes returns to the Palais des Festivals Oct. 12-15 with a larger program for streaming, FAST, YouTube and digital video. The international content market is expected to draw more than 10,000 executives, as organizers expand its attention to platforms, creators and alternative distribution, as the source reports.

That broader agenda includes daily YouTube workshops and panels on distribution, monetization and digital growth. YouTube, which made its MIPCOM debut in 2025, says more than 10 partners will join discussions about revenue diversification and complementary distribution strategies.

MIPCOM Cannes Adds YouTube and Streaming Sessions

On opening day, YouTube EMEA Vice President Pedro Pina and global head of media and sports Justin Connolly are scheduled to discuss changing viewing habits, declining linear consumption, programming strategies and revenue pressures. MIPCOM organizers describe those pressures as part of continuing “streaming wars.”

A blank presentation screen in a modern conference room. Illustrative stock photo via Pexels.

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria is scheduled to receive the Variety Vanguard Award Oct. 12 and take part in an onstage interview with Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton. Bajaria oversees Netflix’s film and television acquisition and production efforts around the world.

The MIP Innovation Lab will add a dedicated Streaming & FAST component. Its program will focus on technology for content distribution, channel creation and streaming businesses, alongside sessions about monetization, audience technology, AI and production.

Vertical video and microdramas, short serialized programming designed primarily for mobile devices, will also receive attention. On Oct. 14, executives from Holywater Tech and other companies are scheduled to discuss production, distribution, monetization and audience development for vertical series.

A day earlier, the Innovation Lab will host “Media War & Peace Live: Premium Vertical TV,” featuring RoseBerry Media executives and media analyst Evan Shapiro. The sessions place mobile-first programming among the market’s broader discussions of how professionally produced video reaches viewers.

A Rights Marketplace With New Programs

MIPCOM remains a global rights marketplace. Buyers and sellers come to Cannes to acquire, license and distribute programming across countries and platforms. A program may go to a broadcaster in one territory, an SVOD service in another, and a FAST or AVOD platform elsewhere.

Producers and distributors can negotiate those arrangements during meetings at the Palais and nearby Cannes hotels. The market’s range of territories and distribution models is a central distinction in the source’s account of MIPCOM.

The event is also adding programs that address how entertainment is financed and produced. New this year, MIP BrandWorks is a three-day initiative connecting brands and advertising agencies with studios, streamers, producers, creators and rights holders to develop and finance programming.

The initiative aims to move branded entertainment beyond one-off marketing campaigns toward longer-running programming and intellectual property. Separately, the new MIP AI Entertainment Forum will examine how artificial intelligence is used in content creation, production workflows and licensing.

The program’s mix reflects organizers’ description of a market bringing together studios, platforms, broadcasters, creators, brands and AI companies. MIPCOM Cannes runs Oct. 12-15, with its expanded sessions and marketplace bringing those groups together in Cannes.