Yahoo Finance Global Distributors Unite to Officially Launch London Screenings With Virtual 2021 Event
U.K.-based international television distributors are pressing on with London Screenings in 2021, with a virtual event planned around the digital BBC Studios Showcase.
The annual week of distributor events known as London Screenings has casually formed in recent years around the back of the glitzy BBC showcase in Liverpool, when the production and distribution powerhouse shows off its new shows to hundreds of global buyers, who then descend to London to meet with other distributors over the remainder of the week.
The event has become something of a success story for London-based companies — so much so that some businesses now sit out the Cannes-based MipTV market in April because they’re able to conduct key business in London during the Screenings.
This year, distributors All3Media International, Banijay Rights, Entertainment One, Fremantle and ITV Studios have formally launched the London Screenings, which will be led by the group in the future. Other smaller distribution outfits are also likely to run their own showcases alongside the flagship events.
Next year’s event will be fully digital and launches March 1, following on from the BBC Studios Showcase, which is scheduled to run virtually from Feb. 22-24.
The London Screenings will return as a physical event in 2022, the group said.
A spokesperson for the group said, “Over previous years, the week in London post BBC Studios Showcase has become a destination for key buyers around the world. This has been down to the calibre of the events and presentations arranged by the key London-based distributors. Having listened to our buyers, the logical evolution is for those companies to bring buyers a fully curated series of quality showcases across two weeks, each planned to avoid screening conflicts and all under the official banner of The London Screenings.”
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