Event Coverage
Asia puts on a good show at MIPTV 2002
MIPTV 2002 (International Television Program Market), which claims to be the spring’s leading international television programme market, saw the Asian region – particularly Japan and Korea – put up a strong showing. They were the 4th and 8th largest exhibiting nations. The event took place at Cannes from 15-19 April.
Asia was also a strategic region for international sales. CCTV picked up BBC Worldwide’s The Blue Planet and Walking with Beasts and renewed an agreement for RDF’s challenge series Scrapheap Challenge. Korean broadcaster Daekyo Network Broadcasting acquired exclusive rights to EMTV’s Junior branded programmes for three years and committed to buy a minimum of 468 half-hours from the Junior library.
China’s newcomer Tanglong International Media and HBO Korea acquired rights to E! Networks shows and blocks. Japan’s NHK, UBC Thailand and SBS Korea picked up Sesame Workshop and Pepper’s Ghost Productions CGI series Tiny Planets. Sony Japan took all rights to Hit Entertainment’s stop-motion animated series Pingu. MBC Korea and HBO Asia acquired rights to Alliance Atlantis series and films and Malaysia’s Astro TV picked up rights to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment specials.
Canada was represented by 114 exhibiting companies (80 last year), Japan brought 46 exhibiting companies (37 last year), and 33 companies came from South Korea (13 last year). The number of exhibiting companies from Asia Pacific grew by 17.4 per cent this year (135 companies). A third of MIPDOC’s top 30 buyers (those who viewed the largest amount of programs) came from Asia.
However, the overall figures showed a marginal decline from last year which an official release partly attributed to the dotcom crash. In all, 10,200 delegates representing 2,715 companies from 97 countries participated at the market. Last year 11,049 delegates from 2,827 companies and 90 countries attended. A total 1,209 exhibiting companies attended from 56 countries, while last year 1,228 companies from 55 countries took part in the market.
Documentaries were prevalent among the deals made at MIP TV as well as MIPDOC, where buyers made a record 9,037 viewings. After the events of 11 September top-budget factual programming is increasingly scheduled into prime-time slots. At MIPTV Channel 4 and ZDF announced a major partnership to create and distribute a high-end documentary The Private Life of Pompeii. Beyond and S4C teamed up to produce a $900,000 three-part series about the Stone Age. BBC Worldwide sold over 200 hours of documentaries to Finland, Israel, and Portugal.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
