Monte-Carlo Industry Program Focuses on Docs, AI and Ad-Supported Models

variety.com:

Ben Croll Without a market component, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival has nevertheless built out and bulked up its industry section with each passing edition.

More than anything, the move came out of sheer practicality, says executive director Cécile Menoni. “We realized that the professionals who were already present could benefit from certain professional content,” Menoni explains. “The idea was to involve the many people who were already in attendance.

To federate the juries, nominees and journalists, and to convey their overall vision of cotemporary industry concerns.” This year’s festival business program runs from June 17 – 19, beginning with a conversation moderated by Variety’s Leo Barraclough that will find Amazon Studio’s Rola Bauer and executive producer Edward Ornelas discussing the challenges and opportunities, casting choices and artistic ambitions of the festival’s opening series, “Harlan Corben’s Shelter.” From there we’re off to the races with eight more conferences tackling the importance of independent television within the wider scripted landscape with “Everyone Is Doing Great” creators and stars Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty, and arguing for the importance of diversity and authenticity with Toma de Matteis of France TV Studios, producer Sydney Gallonde of Make It Happen, and Kerry Hopkins of Broadcast Academy.

A June 18 panel about the Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) model might have attendees asking if everything old is in fact new again, as this lucrative new market bears a striking resemblance to the reigning 20th century TV model.