CANNES, France (AFP) - From the mobile phone to the Internet, portable game stations, the iconic iPod, DVD players, and of course, the television set, a new entertainment everywhere era is dawning for the TV industry.
This exciting new future and the new challenges posed by the digital revolution, which is fast releasing TV from its box onto a multitude of new screens gets the annual "MIPTV featuring MILIA", the audiovisual trade show, off to a sparkling start on Monday.
"Entertainment everywhere" is becoming a reality, emphasised Paul Johnson, television director for the show's organisers Reed MIDEM. As a result, "MIPTV featuring MILIA 2006 will be one of our biggest TV markets yet," he told AFP.
More than 12,000 top players from the TV, DVD, video, cable and satellite as well as the new media worlds in 92 countries have jetted into this smart Riviera resort, five percent more than last year.
A week of hectic deal-making is also on the cards with seven percent more TV programme buyers signed up for the influential event before its close on Friday.
One of the highlights, though, looks set to be the brainstorming conferences that run in parallel with the main business of buying and selling audiovisual content.
A busy conference programme aims to tackle many of the key issues facing the industries today in order to understand and react to the plethora of fast-emerging new distribution platforms. The other multi-million dollar question is what content will win new audiences.
The importance of these challenges to the future of television has brought some of the world's most influential figures in new media and multiplatform TV to town.
The heavyweight line-up of speakers includes AOL CEO Jonathan Miller, the BBC's Ashley Highfield and Japan's NTT DoCoMo senior exec Takeshi Natsuno.
They and others will address some of the major issues facing the business today -- the growth of mobile TV and entertainment, TV on the Internet (IPTV) and on-demand viewing.
Reflecting the increasingly interactive nature of television, MIPTV featuring MILIA will this year include the first-ever International Interactive Emmy Awards, among television's top prizes.
"This is the first Emmys to be staged outside the USA and confirms our efforts to stay ahead of the curve as digital technology re-shapes our industry," Johnson added.
Smooth "Desperate Housewives" star Roger Bart will host Wednesday's prize-giving, alongside Dennis Heysbert of "24" fame, France's Corinne Touzet and Latin telenovela actress Veronica Schneider.
Partying is a serious business during the show, where networking opportunities abound on the exhibition floor, in the conference halls and in the neighbouring clutch of luxurious, top class hotels.
Monday's opening cocktail party sponsored by Abu Dhabi Television will have an Arabian nights' flavour, ahead of a special session Tuesday that highlights the booming TV market in the Gulf region.
Asia-Pacific countries have also turned out here in large numbers. A total of 558 companies from the region are in town, accounting for 15 percent of the total 3,724 companies represented here.
Hi-tech digital powerhouses South Korea and Japan both figure in the list of top 10 exhibiting countries.
Japan will also be in the limelight Tuesday when its production powerhouse TOEI receives the show's Lifetime Achievement award for its contribution to the international television industry.
The Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) and the BBC are also joint organisers of MIPTV featuring MILIA's new international competition "Content 360".
This is aimed at stimulating new innovative interactive content to exploit the creative potential of new digital platforms and maximise interaction between audiences and broadcast TV.
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