On 8 December, 2017, AnimationXpress reported that MEAI in association with ESC will host a B2B event for the media and entertainment industry. The event, called IMEC (Indian Media & Entertainment Conclave), is set for disruptive business meetings on 24 and 25 January, 2018 from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru.
IMEC is a closed door B2B matchmaking event to promote Indian IPs (animation and live action alike). Organised by the Media & Entertainment Association of India (MEAI), IMEC will see international buyers, acquisition heads, broadcasters and OTT/VOD platforms in speed pitching with Indian IP developers/sellers.
The event is co-located with ESC’s Indiasoft which will see panels and conferences on IT and related topics. However, IMEC is focused only on B2B matchmaking and there will not be any conferences as part of IMEC.
“MEAI was formed with the objective of promotion of the Indian media and entertainment industry and with IMEC we are taking strides to push the envelope of the Indian content,” says MEAI secretary Ankur Bhasin. “With quality, genuine buyers interested to procure Indian content, IMEC makes it affordable for industry players to sell their content globally, especially the small and medium scale producers.”
Buyer Profile
Based on the buying trends, the focus for this edition of IMEC has been on ASEAN and CIS countries. The buyers can largely be classified as broadcasters, OTT/VOD platforms and distributors. There is a qualification process for the buyers to ensure genuine participants interested in Indian content which should lead to promotion and business of India IP ecosystem.
Event Format
All buyers and delegates are provided access to a matchmaking platform with the possibility of delegates showcasing their properties accessible for buyers to view before the event. The matchmaking can be done through online networking portal http://meai-imec.com. Based on the finalised schedules, meetings will be conducted at pre arranged slots of 30 minutes each. There are also two networking lunches and a networking dinner for offline networking of buyers and delegates.
Delegates
IMEC is best beneficial for producers with ready content or content near completion as the buyers have indicated their preference to acquire available content. However, buyers are also willing to look at content under production.
Bhasin explains, “Over the last few years, Indian IPs have been consistently rising in popularity in the ASEAN region – due to the large Indian expats in those countries and cultural similarities and sensibilities. Keeping this in mind, our team has laid extra emphasis on inviting top buyers from these countries. IMEC is set to see buyers from China, Indonesia, Croatia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Vietnam, Poland, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.”
Indian companies participating include major giants and SMEs alike such as Alt Digital, Toonz Media Group, Graphic India, Purple Turtle, Pencillati Studios, Bhasin Studios, Jugnu Kids, philmCGI, Epic TV, iMGenie Digital, Appu Series, Studio 56 and Magic Box Animation.
