R X France, organizers of the biannual MIPTV and MIPCOM markets, have confirmed after weeks of speculation that the 61st edition of MIPTV will be the last, and a new London-based market will launch in 2025.

MIP London will run concurrently with the next edition of the London TV Screenings, from Feb. 24 to 27, with a pre-opening on Sunday, Feb. 23. It’s billed by RX France as a multi-genre market “shaped through industry feedback to satisfy the growing need for versatile meeting and screening solutions in line with the increased demand for international companies to connect with buyers in London each February.”

As opposed to MIPTV, the new event will shift its focus from exhibiting content to offering international companies looking for presence in London to have “tailored, scalable options to showcase and network in one convenient spot.”

The event will also have a “comprehensive invitation program” offering qualified buyers free access.

MIP London will be based out of the Savoy Hotel and the adjacent IET London: Savoy Place in London’s West End.

“The creation of MIP London is a direct result of clear and evidenced market factors,” said Lucy Smith, entertainment division director for RX France, in a statement. “There is a continued appetite for a global content market in the first half of the year. MIP London will not only alleviate a busy events calendar but will provide an additional entry point for international companies to gather in London at the same time.”

As for running the event along the same timeline as the London TV Screenings, Smith added: “We have consulted with many of those already hosting events in London as well as with international companies looking to do so. Our vision is a market that complements, not competes with, the established screenings programme, that provides further options for the widest range of international distributors, studios and buyers to take part and can bring even more business to London in February for the benefit of all.”

The move had been rumoured for weeks, in the face of increasing international interest in London TV Screenings (LTVS), and steadily declining attendance in the spring Cannes-based MIPTV.

The most recent edition of the London TV Screenings, which is free to attend for buyers, boasted a 50% increase in buyer attendance, according to the organizing distributors, and close to 750 participants. And although RX France is positioning the move and its timing as complementary to the existing Screenings, some trades are reporting that not all distributors taking part in the LTVS see it that way.

While a toast of rosé to send off MIPTV may be in order for those attending what will be its final edition, RX France will still be operating the larger MIPCOM market in October.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen