Eight Takeaways From Rome’s MIA Market

Rome’s MIA Market wrapped a successful 11th edition on Friday with organizers recording another strong turnout, welcoming more than 2,800 participants — on par with 2024’s record-breaking edition — from 64 countries, marking the broadest geographical reach to date for the unique, pre-Mipcom boutique event.

“We are living through a period of profound transformation: new financial balances, audience fragmentation, the redefinition of distribution windows and technological advancement,” said market head Gaia Tridente. “In this complex economic and geopolitical context, MIA has chosen not to retreat, but to push forward, implementing concrete initiatives for the benefit of accredited participants.”

Noting measures such as strengthening the event’s co-production market and industry programs, bolstering its book adaptation forum to connect publishing and audiovisual content, and introducing a dedicated vertical program on artificial intelligence, Tridente added: “This is how we turn complexity into opportunity, with Rome as the destination where stories gain momentum and shape the future.”

This week saw Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos descending on the Eternal City to announce the streaming giant’s plans to help revive a storied cinema, as well as a host of international TV executives mooting the possibility of an upturn that could pull the global drama biz out of its recent doldrums.

As those execs now prepare to hit the French Riviera for Mipcom, which runs Oct. 13 – 16 in Cannes, here are eight takeaways from a busy week in Rome:

European execs flex muscles as Trump’s tariff threats fall flat

While President Donald Trump might have reupped his threats last month to impose a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the U.S., European film industry professionals aren’t backing down, with Italian undersecretary for culture Lucia Borgonzoni blasting the latest tariff threats as “insane” and triumphant execs in Rome taking a victory lap this week over the continued one-way traffic of Hollywood production across the pond.

“It’s a very simple question, and the U.S. has understood that: There’s no better place to be when you’re a producer today than in Europe,” said Alexandra Lebret, a partner at French investment firm Axio. 

With production costs spiraling worldwide and cautious execs leaving no stone unturned in the hunt for savings, Europe has seen a surge in U.S. production, with Hollywood studios “trying to defray those costs…chasing tax credits, subsidies, anything that could reduce that cost factor,” according to Alex Brunner, a sales agent at UTA.

What Brunner described as an “arms race” in tax credits has been a boon for European production hubs, with “Call Me By Your Name” producer Rodrigo Texeira, of Brazil’s RT Features, noting, “American films are coming here because they understand they don’t have those tools you guys have in Europe.” 

As for Trump’s proposed tariffs, Texeira expressed the confusion shared by industry professionals across the globe over what they might look like in practice, noting: “No one knows what he means. No one knows what he’s talking about.” Christopher Vourlias

TV biz feeling ‘optimism’ despite commissioning cutbacks

Though a yearslong diet of budget cuts, corporate mergers, course corrections and C-suite retrenchments have dimmed the optimism of many TV industry professionals as commissioning numbers continue to dwindle, global TV execs in Rome insisted that now’s the time to double down and think big.

“I do think that there is optimism at the moment, in terms of a little bit of creative risk. Things are not as grim as they were a couple years ago,” said Steve Matthews, joint head of scripted at Banijay.

Streamers are bouncing back after a gloomy stretch of “terribly conservative” commissioning, according to Matthews, who said the situation is “improving.” “I think there is a kind of doom loop where we’ve convinced ourselves as producers that they’re risk averse, and it’s going round and round in circles,” he said. “But I think now is the time to give a bit of a push…. I think that there is a little bit more openness from the buyers for other things.”

How to stand out remains the question “in a market that’s so competitive for everybody’s eyeballs and attention,” according to Léo Becker, head of international originals and co-productions at France’s Federation Studios. “Whether it’s the face in the box, or it’s the big creator, or it’s the big IP, or it’s something you’ve never seen before — that’s the kind of show that you can specifically tailor for the international market.”

But with less margin for error than ever before, commissioners need to resist the temptation to play it safe, according to Larry Grimaldi, senior vice president of creative affairs and original movies at Fox Entertainment Studios.

“TV used to be a place where you would discover new actors, and you would discover new writers. And it’s kind of a shame that we have to put all this stock in people who are just the easy bets,” he said. “I think there’s a place for both.” C.V.

Sarandos makes Rome trek to re-open historic movie theater

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos made the trek to Rome during MIA to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the streaming giant’s launch in Italy. To mark the occasion, Sarandos announced what he called a “unique” partnership with Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC) film school to refurbish and reopen Rome’s Cinema Europa movie theater.

The Eternal City’s historic Cinema Europa, which had been shut down during the pandemic, will get a makeover and become a space open to education, research and the promotion of national film heritage. The CSC will oversee the management and programming of the theater, which will become a new home for film students and movie buffs of all ages.

“Cinema Europa is woven into the creative fabric of Italy,” Sarandos said during a press conference at Italy’s culture ministry. He noted that “it was the site of the first open-air screening of an Italian film (Filoteo Alberini’s ‘La Presa di Roma’) exactly 120 years ago.”

Located near Cinecitta Studios in Rome, the Centro Sperimentale is the oldest film school in Western Europe. Among its graduates are director Michelangelo Antonioni and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, both Oscar winners and, more recently, Edoardo De Angelis, who directed Netflix’s Elena Ferrante adaptation series “The Lying Life of Adults.”

Netflix is supporting the project partnership with a €4 million ($4.6 million) sponsorship within a five-year agreement. The investment will cover part of the renovation and management costs of the premises as well as various cultural and educational activities. The streaming giant will participate in launching what is being described as a new “laboratory” for cinema in the Italian capital. Nick Vivarelli

Production of Italian original content dips

Total investment in Italy’s TV and film industries grew 9% in 2024 to €16.3 billion ($19 billion) across all sectors in 2024. But the output of Italian original content has dropped 12% to 658 hours during the past season, largely due to less commissions from streamers.

That is the main takeaway from a report issued by Italian TV producers’ association APA during Rome’s MIA market, which is dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films and documentaries.

Italian free-to-air broadcasters currently account for more than 60% of the country’s scripted originals with state broadcaster RAI still firmly positioned as the main local industry driver, just as Italy’s linear channels and streamers both rely less on original titles compared with previous seasons, the report said. 

It noted that there has been a 29% drop in commissions of Italian originals from streamers – the country’s top two streaming platforms in Italy are Netflix and Prime Video; a 16% drop in commissions from pay-TV outlets (mainly Sky Italia) and an 8% drop from free-to-air outlets.

In terms of scripted series, the number of hours commissioned by Netflix actually rose 4%, while Prime Video lowered its production level of local scripted content but increased its unscripted output, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Italian TV market is transitioning from a “demand-driven model to a product-driven model,” said APA chief Chiara Sbarigia, who noted this shift means it is becoming more selective about projects and giving preference to works that can travel. N.V.

Broadcasters ‘missing out’ as gender parity lags in drama biz 

Just 27% of professionals working in the European drama industry between 2019 and 2023 were women, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory, underscoring the ongoing challenge to achieve gender parity in the continent’s audiovisual sector. 

“We’ve progressed, but there’s still (a long way) to go,” said Laura Abril, EVP of scripted and global business development at Buendia Estudios in Spain.

Former Channel 4 head of drama Caroline Hollick didn’t mince words in Rome as she took aim at a U.K. TV industry whose risk-averse decision-making during a period of prolonged contraction threatens to undo the cautious gains made during the post-MeToo reckoning on gender parity.

“As the industry shrinks… everyone is going back to the familiar writers that they know, who have long track records and all the commissioners feel comfortable with. And I’ll be really honest: Not that many of them are women,” Hollick said. 

“The way you’re going to make better shows — and make more money, guys — is by hiring the best people. And if you’re shutting out (half) of the population, then you’re missing out on the game-changing shows that are going to make you money.” 

Where gains have been made, it’s often the result of concerted efforts by decision-makers to foster change. After an internally commissioned study found that just 18% of shows in its primetime slots were directed by women, German broadcaster ZDF introduced a female directors program to nurture and develop more female talents. Today, that number has risen to 42%. 

“You can’t just complain,” said Jasmin Maeda, ZDF’s SVP of international fiction co-production and acquisition. “You have to do something.”

Spain, meanwhile, which introduced a point system for its tax incentive scheme that rewards projects with female cast and crew attached, has seen its representation of women in the audiovisual industry jump to 38%, according to a 2024 report by the Spanish Assn. of Female Film Directors and Executives. 

Chiara Cardoso, managing director of the U.K.’s BlackBox Multimedia, pointed to that as an example of “finding ways to encourage the players, the producers, to open up and take that risk.” C.V.

Factual is booming, but producers need to ‘cut through clutter’

One thing that remains clear in these uncertain times is that factual programming is as hot as ever. “Our broadcasters are hungry for content,” said Cecilie Olsen, SVP of global content, non-scripted at ITV Studios Global Distribution. 

The market for premium documentaries remains robust, although “it really needs to cut through a lot of clutter, and it really needs to stand out to work on either a linear channel or platform,” said Gerbrig Blanksma, SVP of international sales and partnerships at the U.K.’s Blue Ant Media. 

Blanksma teased footage in Rome of Blue Ant’s new Taylor Swift documentary, “Taylor,” that the company will launch at Mipcom, which features unique access to the megastar and never-heard-before audio. “If it’s a big talent or a big story, that’s generally not quite enough. You want to see something that you’ve never seen before,” she said. 

While TV execs remain bullish on the factual market, “commissioning is really slowing down,” said Blanksma, who added that her company is constantly exploring “different models of financing content” to respond to the shifting landscape. 

“As budgets are shrinking, we all need to work together a lot more. There’s a lot more collaboration, co-production, international co-production,” she said. “We also really need to find further windows down the line to actually monetize the content. The flexibility there is growing.” C.V.

Despite global downturn, Nordic drama continues to surge 

It hasn’t entirely been doom and gloom for the global TV industry in this age of fragmented audiences and shrinking budgets. While worldwide commissioning fell by 15% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, according to a report by Ampere Analysis, the four Nordic public broadcasters recorded an impressive 24% growth. 

That support has been a pillar of Nordic production, according to Josefine Tengblad, producer and co-founder of Swedish production outfit Nordic Drama Queens, who described public broadcasting as “our backbone.” 

Yet whether it’s government cuts to cultural funding in Finland or capturing the dwindling attention spans of younger audiences across the board, that reliable business model is being shaken.

“I think it’s more difficult to be brave now than a few years ago, during the golden days,” said Johanna Gårdare, head of drama at Sweden’s SVT. “We have fewer commissioners commissioning fewer series. That affects the content. How can you afford, how can you dare to not bet on the safe horses?” 

While there have been few safer horses than Nordic Noir in recent years, NRK head of drama Marianne Furevold-Boland said the Norwegian pubcaster is looking “to find those stories that are so distinct that they stand out,” even if that means breaking from time-tested formulas. “If you don’t explore, then we don’t go forward,” she said.

Gårdare echoed that sentiment, stressing that “the world is more connected now.” “We have a huge political power play going on in the world right now, and that will also affect the content,” she said. “We have to search for different partnerships and find different kinds of collaborations. The world is both shrinking and expanding at the same time.” C.V.

From commissioning cuts to AI, animation in crisis mode

The message for animators in Rome couldn’t be clearer. “In the past two years, there’s been a substantial downturn in the animation industry, and some have even talked about a major crisis in the business model of the animation industry,” according to Philippe Alessandri, CEO and founder of Watch Next Media in France. 

First, the good news: On the feature film side, though animated titles represent just 8% of commercial theatrical releases per year, they represent 22% of ticket sales, according to data provided by European Audiovisual Observatory analyst Nicolas Edmery. Admissions have not only bounced back but surpassed pre-pandemic levels, despite a dramatic decrease in live-action box office. 

Yet many animation houses are on life support, with Scotland’s Axis Studios — the company behind Marvel’s new streaming series “Eyes of Wakanda” — the latest to declare bankruptcy this week, joining the ranks of studios to go belly up in the past year that includes French animation house TeamTO and U.K. shop Jellyfish Pictures, which produced the animation for Dreamworks’ “Dog Man.”

Of course, such challenges aren’t unique to the toon biz, with Barbara Tonelli, of French financial institution Coficiné, insisting: “The crisis is in all the companies — not just animation.” 

Still, Alessandra Principini, a fundraiser for Italy’s Movimenti Production, stressed that “it’s so important for us to have more investment for theatrical animation,” while Alessandri noted that “the commercial networks are retreating from the animation business” as younger audiences are “migrating massively onto platforms which are not investing that much in animation.” 

Nevertheless, he insisted that rights holders aren’t powerless in the battle to monetize their IP. “We are doing billions of views on YouTube,” he said. “We can be feared.” 

With widespread adoption of AI looming, the future is murkier than ever, although Principini stressed that animation professionals need to be attuned not only to the threats, but the opportunities on the horizon. “It’s a phase of deep transformation and we can’t be scared about that,” she said. “We need to take new risks.” C.V.