Event Coverage
MipTV reports a marginal rise in attendance
MUMBAI: The recently concluded television event in Cannes, France MipTV featuring Milia had an attendance of 12,249 participants, compared to 12,163 in 2005.
Company participation rose to 4,201 from 4,138 last year, while the number of acquisition executives in Cannes was 3,565, a five per cent increase on the 2005 level of 3,393.
Reed Midem’s television division director Paul Johnson says, “MipTV featuring MILIA 2006 saw a significant rise in the number of companies and executives coming from the digital sector, particularly IPTV, mobile and interactive television specialists. Our figures show that we welcomed some 1,800 companies from the Internet and mobile sectors.
“Our conference programme and a series of new initiatives such as Content 360 and the International Interactive Emmy Awards, reflect the changes taking place in the industry. MipTV featuring MILIA is not just a television market, it’s a content market.”
The event had 45 sessions and over 170 speakers. For the first time ever, the conference programme welcomed seven keynote speakers, including AOL chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller, reality television producer Mark Burnett, BBC new media head Ashley Highfield, FremantleMedia’s Gary Carter, Takeshi Natsuno of NTT DoCoMo and Erik Huggers of Microsoft.
Miller at the event announced that AOL had brought programming originally produced for its Internet video channels and was selling the shows to traditional broadcasters.
A highlight of MipTV was the inaugural International Interactive Emmy Awards, organised by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Reed Midem. This is the first time that an Emmy Awards ceremony has taken place outside the US. A gala dinner, hosted by Desperate Housewives star Roger Bart.
Among the other new initiatives launched in 2006, Content 360 set out to commission innovative content and interactive applications for mobile and broadband. Organised in partnership with the BBC, the Korean Broadcasting Commission and the National Film Board of Canada, Content 360 rewarded six company projects and provided €80,000 of development funding to be divided between the winners.
For the first time in MipTV’s history, the annual Lifetime Achievement Award was attributed not to an industry individual but to a whole company, in the form of Japanese production powerhouse TOEI. TOEI Company chairman Tan Takaiwa and TOEI Animation chairman Tsutomu Tomari accepted the tribute on behalf of the entire TOEI group.
Now in its ninth year, the two-day Mipdoc documentary and factual programme screenings, which precede MipTV, saw a 14 per cent rise in participation with 438 companies from 57 countries attending. Production and sales companies sent 1,192 programmes to the digital screening library, of which 769 were appearing at a market for the first time.
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.
