Event Coverage
Mipcom Cannes lines up CSI creator and vertical storytelling’s biggest names
Anthony Zuiker and Holywater Tech’s Anatolii Kasianov headline a market betting big on microdrama
PARIS: Television is having an identity crisis, and Mipcom Cannes wants a front row seat. The world’s biggest media and entertainment market has unveiled a beefed up 2026 lineup built around one big bet: the future belongs to whoever masters vertical storytelling, creator led business and AI powered production, and everyone who matters wants in.
Running from 12 to 15 October, the marketplace has pulled together executives, creators and technology players racing to cash in on formats that were experimental a year ago and are now scaling fast, raising money and rewriting the rules of the content economy.
Leading the charge on the Grand Auditorium stage is Anthony Zuiker, creator of the CSI franchise, who will debut Cinemalistics, a platform that turns breaking true crime stories into AI generated films and documentaries within hours of the news breaking. Alongside him, Anatolii Kasianov, co founder and co chief executive of Holywater Tech, takes a separate headliner slot with more speakers still to be confirmed.
Vertical storytelling and microdrama, meanwhile, are graduating from buzzword status to serious business. Mipcom Cannes is backing that shift with executive networking, curated matchmaking and a dedicated Vertical Content Speed Matchmaking category, pairing buyers, platforms, producers and distributors hunting for licensing deals and partnerships.
The roster reads like a who’s who of the format’s fastest movers: Timothy Oh of COL Group, Maria Rua Aguete of Omdia, Alex Montalvo of GammaTime, Scott Brown of Second Rodeo Productions, Cassandra Yang of RisingJoy, Stephen Liu of NetShort, Vivian Yin of Y+X Entertainment and Jay Blumenfield of Jay & Tony Show Productions.
Adding to the buzz, The Media Odyssey podcast will record a live special on premium vertical television, moderated by Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet, featuring RoseBerry Media’s Guy Hameiri and Lior Friedman. An invitation only Global Microdrama & Vertical Leaders’ Summit rounds out the agenda, alongside crossovers into creator led entertainment and brand partnerships.
With CSI’s creator, a stacked speaker list and dealmaking built into every corner of the programme, Mipcom Cannes is shaping up to be the moment vertical storytelling stops knocking on television’s door and walks straight through it.
