Cannes: It couldn’t have been more fitting, reading the news of the latest content/broadcast merger, front and centre in the Wall Street Journal Europe, en route to Cannes.

It was Sunday, April 9, the eve of this year’s mip-tv. I was midway through my flight when I noticed that u.k.-based Pearson tv and Europe’s leading broadcaster clt-ufa had inked a merger deal that will create a us$19.2-billion television enterprise. The new entity is expected to garner an estimated daily audience of 120 million viewers in 11 countries, with production houses churning out more than 10,000 hours of programming a year.

A perfect scene-setter for mip, the deal proves an excellent example of convergence and consolidation – the most ubiquitous theme of the millennium and two words I was certain would characterize this year’s market, what with the launch of its new MIPNET@MIPTV 2000 program, the worldwide ripple effect of the aol/TimeWarner merger and the fact that 506 (14%) of the 2,776 companies attending mip were accredited as New Media.

Then, I turned the page to find a black-and-white sketch of Micheline Charest surrounded by a half-page article on the Cinar fiasco – a timely prelude to things to come, in spite of the fact the story didn’t reveal any new or insightful developments.

As it turned out, Cinar reigned among the hottest topics in the underbelly of this year’s market. Amidst all the hullabaloo inside the newly expanded Palais des Festivals, all the late-night chatter and cozying up inside the Majestic and Martinez hotels, many an international player simply wanted to know what’s up with Cinar.

However, in spite of the gossip, the front-page company maintained a business as usual line at its corner booth, as it brought forth two new series to the market.

The Baskervilles, a Cinar/ Alphanim (France) coprod commissioned by itv, is a 26-part, 3D-animated series about a family who live their lives oblivious to the fact that they’re stuck in an underworld theme park, where everything is opposite.

The series is budgeted at roughly us$350,000 per episode. Cinar has worldwide distribution except in France.

Treasure is Cinar’s first foray into prime time, adult programming. A 13-part, 2D animated series coproduced by Cinar, BBC Worldwide and Halo Productions in the u.k., Treasure follows the turbulent life of a bratty, 14-year-old girl who lives with her mother and grandmother.

The series, presold to bbc, is budgeted at roughly us$300,000 per ep. Cinar and bbc split worldwide distribution.

In other animation news, Decode Entertainment makes its foray into teen animation with The Click, a coprod with MTV Animation.

The 13-part, half-hour series, currently in preproduction, marks mtva’s first coprod outside its organization. Created by 21-year-old newcomer Pete Williams, who also provides the voice for and designed the four main characters, the 2D-animated series, to be composited in 3D, follows the on-going saga of a motley crew of four life-long buddies and their journey through freshman year of college. New York scribbler Andy Reingold along with many of the same writers from Angela Anaconda are attached.

The series is budgeted at us$300,000 per ep.

Beth Stevenson and Dave McGrath are producing. mtv’s Abby Terkuhle and Decode’s Steven DeNure and Neil Court are exec producing.

Decode has worldwide distribution outside the u.s.

Angela online

Decode is also in development on its web site featuring Angela Anaconda On-Line, which will enable users to scan pictures with which they can replace the heads of the series’ characters. And, in addition to being renewed for a second season on Fox Family Channel, Angela has been sold to the Cartoon Network Europe for a number of territories including the u.k., the Netherlands, France and Spain. The series was also sold terrestrially in France, where it will air on France 3 and to Nickelodeon Australia.

Further down the pipeline are another three animated series and two live-action projects, one on which Decode is in development with Global tv and writer Kathy Slevin (Due South). Tentatively titled, My Hero, the 13-part, half-hour series takes place in a modern day neighborhood where a teenage boy in search of a role model discovers a knight, reminiscent of The Fisher King, whom he ends up taking home.

On the flip side, Alliance Atlantis Communications and Fireworks Entertainment are both branching out into the realm of factual programming.

But while aac, which recently submitted a digital application for The Independent Film and Documentary Channel, couldn’t comment on what this pending division would entail, Fireworks International’s president Greg Philips confirmed the acquisition of eight, one-hour docs from New York-based producer Parco Entertainment for Court tv.

The series, Mugshots, which will ultimately consist of 13 x one-hours, centres on the witnesses to some of the most infamous murder and serial killing events in history. Cases, including those of Ted Binion, Mark David Chapman and David Koresh, are examined through current and in-depth interviews.

Fireworks is currently talking to two other unnamed doc suppliers, and by mipcom, Philips said, the company will have a separate division for non-fiction programming. ‘Fireworks Factual,’ perhaps.

Meantime, Fireworks officially launched its latest adventure series Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, a coprod with Tribune Entertainment.

The futuristic 44-part, one-hour series combines live-action and 3D animation and special fx to the tune of roughly us$1.2 million.

Starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), the series goes into production in Vancouver in May.

Fireworks, which has worldwide distribution of the series outside the u.s., closed a pick-up deal with German media group TeleMunchen and broadcaster rtl 2 at mip.

In total, TeleMunchen acquired 80 hours of programming from Fireworks this market, including action series 18 Wheels of Justice starring Lucky Vanous and children’s live action series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd.

Fireworks’ Relic Hunter has also been renewed for a second season, in first-run syndication, by Chris-Craft and Partner Stations Network including Sinclair, Lin, Raycom, Pappas and Lambert Television Group, as well as wls-tv, abc’s Chicago owned powerhouse.

Moving west, Great North International locked up two international coprod deals at mip.

Great Hotels of the World is a Great North/Cafe Productions (London) coprod set to shoot across the map this spring. As the title suggests, the six, one hours will visit and explore some of the greatest hotels around the world, including the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong and Glen Eagles in Scotland. The series is budgeted at us$200,000 per ep.

Women in the Hood, a coprod with ScreenVenture (London), is a one-hour, us$400,000 doc which explores the lives of women in the Ku Klux Klan.

Cold cream queen

Some new properties from Great North brought to the market include: Elizabeth Arden: Behind the Red Door, a one-hour doc from Great North Productions profiling the ruthless cold cream queen, budgeted at $200,000 and directed by Patricia Phillips for History tv; David McTaggart: Shadow Warrior, a one-hour doc on the founder of Greenpeace International, produced by Vancouver-based Soapbox Productions and directed by Helen Slinger for cbc; Crunch: Sports Collisions and Recoveries, three hours that explore sports injuries incorporating 3D animation and interviews with medical professionals, coproduced by gnp, Jaffe Productions and Point Productions, directed by Jacoba Dedert, Joel Stewart and James Thalheimer, budgeted at $480,000 per ep for Discovery Channel Canada; and Dying to Win, a one-hour expose of performance enhancing drugs used in sport, produced by Paradigm Pictures for cbc, directed by Marrin Canell and Ted Remerowski.

As Great North’s library grows and international deals mount, the Edmonton-based distribco has seen its last mip under the Telefilm umbrella.

Oasis Pictures came to the market with three new tv properties, of which it holds Canadian and international distribution rights.

Wild Geese, directed by Genie-Award winner Jeremy Podeswa (The Five Senses) and written by Suzette Couture (She Stood Alone), is a $4.2 million mow that tells the story of love, tyranny and survival set against the landscape of the Prairies in the 1920s. Produced by Doug MacLeod for ctv, the movie goes into production this summer. Pierre Sarrazin and Couture are exec producing.

Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story, produced by Shaftesbury Films’ Christina Jennings (Jacob Two Two), directed by Alex Chapple (Murder Most Likely) and written by Dennis Foon (White Lies), is based on the true story of one of Canada’s most sensational murder trials.

Budgeted at $3.8 million, the mow shoots in the fall and will be delivered to ctv in spring 2001.

Bug-o-rama is a 13-part, half-hour children’s series combining live action and animation. Created and produced by Heidi Lasi and Victor Poirier for tvo and src, the series, heading into production this summer, takes kids on a fun-filled journey through the smaller world of bugs. With two hosts, Lorrie and her animated sidekick Wesley, the show promises to both entertain and educate kids on a bug’s life.

On the infotainment front, Catalyst debuted the pilot for World Fare, a 26-part, half hour series that takes viewers on a globe-trotting search for the greatest treasure the world has to offer.

Tagged a ‘half hour international treasure hunt,’ the series, which is currently in development and budgeted at $150,000 per ep, is hosted by Janis Mackey and produced by Catalyst Entertainment. An accompanying Web site is also in development and the company is currently working on an e-commerce business plan.

.com frenzy

Speaking of which, the .com blitz that started at natpe continued in full force at mip, with Internet companies from around the world in desperate need to fill the void with content. Exhibitors were relentlessly solicited by the new influx of New Media people, but so far no Canadian companies reported any such deals.

Salter Street Films International, for example, was approached by at least 10 companies wanting to license content for streaming, ‘but we’re all skeptical,’ says vp Lynn Chadwick. ‘It used to be Korean video buyers, now its Internet people.’

But while many of the Internet content buyers were taking a ‘What can we do for you?’ approach, leaving the content providers scared and unsure, Chadwick says a couple of people pitched a kind of Internet pay-per-view system, where they would buy Internet rights and also pay royalties from subscriber revenue. Interesting perhaps, but still no deal.

It seems Canadian distributors are not yet willing to plow ahead into uncharted waters, where licensing frameworks have yet to be established.

Great North’s international sales rep Jennifer Batty who says she was ‘bombarded’ with Internet buyers at this year’s mip, questions the longevity of the Internet upstarts, the quality of the streaming, whether Internet rights are tied up in broadcast agreements and ultimately, what such licences are worth. ‘I fear underselling,’ she says.

aac’s exec vp television distribution Marnie Sanderson echoes the concerns of her colleagues, adding, ‘Until we know how to value it and until we can ensure boundary restrictions, we prefer to hold onto the rights.’

Sanderson also makes note of the increased energy and activity at this year’s market. She says things are really picking up in Asia after a prolonged slump, there’s renewed activity in Russia and a real growth in demand for kids programming in Latin America, thanks in large part to the launch of Nickelodeon and Disney channels out there.

Likewise, aac closed a deal at mip to sell 200 hours of programming (50 movies) to Transtv, an Indonesian broadcaster set to launch next year.

Stay tuned for more mip news in the next issue of Playback.