The 12th edition of Rome’s MIA Market came to a close on Friday with market head Gaia Tridente heralding “a stronger, renewed edition of MIA, with a more ambitious and expanded program,” that saw a high-powered cohort of European and global industry guests — including Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh, Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter, and filmmakers Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) and Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) — arriving for a lively week in the Eternal City.
This year’s market expanded its footprint beyond its traditional home in the Palazzo Barberini and adjacent Cinema Barberini, incorporating several new venues along the elegant Via Veneto — of “La Dolce Vita” fame — and in the process “making the city itself an integral part of the market’s identity and experience,” according to Tridente.
She went on to say that those changes represented “probably been one of the biggest transformations of MIA, and certainly one of the most challenging from an organizational perspective.”
“We have completely reimagined the geography of the market, creating a new industry district in the heart of Rome, with Palazzo Barberini as our main hub and a network of venues along Via Veneto,” she said. “The idea was not simply to accommodate a growing market. We wanted to create a different experience for our participants, with dedicated spaces for the different activities, while keeping everything within walking distance.
“In many ways, the entire neighborhood becomes part of the market. I believe this new structure gives MIA a much stronger identity and offers us room to grow,” she continued. “And I have to say, being able to experience Rome in this way is something quite special. The city is not just a backdrop for MIA; it is part of what makes the market unique.”
This year’s event witnessed several other significant changes, including the introduction of a new gap-financing market for animation series and the launch of a dedicated strand showcasing the range of financial tools available to European producers and the growing role of equity capital in film and television production (more on that below).
The market also shifted its dates to take place alongside the Rome Film Festival, as well as Alice nella Città, an autonomous festival that runs parallel to the Rome fest.
“The decision was primarily part of a broader strategy to strengthen Rome’s position as an international hub for the audiovisual industry,” said Tridente, by “bringing these three events closer together in the calendar and creating greater opportunities for collaboration and synergies between the industry and the festivals.
“MIA remains an independent international industry market, with its own identity and objectives, but I believe that having the market and the two festivals taking place at the same time can generate additional value for the entire industry, from producers and distributors to filmmakers and international buyers,” she added.
Here are Variety’s takeaways from a busy week in Rome:
Unprecedented turbulence, untapped potential
The 12th edition of MIA marked the first industry confab to take place since the Red Wedding-style bloodbath at Netflix, which saw the Los Gatos-based streamer ax 1,000 employees — around 6% of its workforce — including chief content officer Bela Bajaria and head of film Dan Lin, whose firing was announced on Monday just hours before MIA attendees gathered for an opening reception in Rome’s lavish Palazzo Barberini.
The firings were the latest in a series of shake-ups, retrenchments and mergers — including Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to form Skydance Corp. — that are recasting the shape of the industry, with many still puzzling over what such seismic shifts will mean for the landscape of production and distribution moving forward.
For some execs in Rome, such turbulence invites a chance to think outside the box — and seize the moment. “In my world, mergers represent opportunity. Contraction represents opportunity,” said Roeg Sutherland, who is co-head of CAA’s media finance department and its international film group. “Financiers see that as a moment where people will be opportunistic.” Anna Marsh, the CEO of Studiocanal and the deputy CEO and chief content officer for Canal+, which in the past year alone has swooped up several companies across two continents, insisted such M&As are essential for survival amid the disruptions of corporate consolidations, shifting consumption habits, emerging technologies and other industry turbulence.
“The audience is so tough that we constantly need to be looking at ourselves in the mirror,” she said. “It’s really important to have a fresh perspective. People that are going to challenge the status quo. Because the business is moving so fast.”
For European producers, there’s also an upside when pan-European studios like Banijay, Mediawan and Vuelta go on a buying spree. “In an ideal world, a group gives you business affairs, cash flow, finance,” said Lorenzo De Maio, president of De Maio Entertainment. “Because the market is so challenging, being part of a group does give you a little bit more support. And usually, the creative stays with the producer.”
European producers digging in
In a keynote speech in Rome, Marco Bassetti, CEO of London-based Banijay Entertainment, the world’s largest independent studio, said that “the major debate currently taking place in Europe … is about recognizing and providing compensation for creativity.” That debate is taking different forms, from the ramped-up efforts of European producers to retain IP rights to the ongoing calls for quotas that would require global streamers to invest a portion of their revenues into local productions. “The reality is that we have no ownership, and it’s extremely difficult to secure any, though things are starting to open up a bit,” Bassetti said. “Ultimately, [the studios and the streamers] still have total control.”
Across the board, producers are feeling the squeeze. “We all know that the business has gotten quite challenging right now,” said De Maio. “Distribution advances have gone down. Gaps are harder to finance …. Buyers, both in film and TV, have become very specific with their mandates. Production costs are going up.” Meanwhile, the dizzying pace of shake-ups in C-suites and boardrooms has made it harder than ever to shepherd a project from script to screen; the commissioner who greenlights a project one day might be pink-slipped the next. “Sometimes the decision is made for you,” said Andrea Calderwood, of the U.K.’s “Die My Love” producer Potboiler Productions, on learning to adapt to uncertainty. “Sometimes you might think you’re choosing, but often the circumstances choose you.”
“Tenacity” is key, said Calderwood, while Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, partner and producer at “My Brilliant Friend” outfit Indiana Productions, said that in a fickle market, producers need to identify the “one big selling point that will make a difference” — whether it’s an A-list star, a bankable director or an irresistible IP.
Still, some aspects of a historically chummy industry remain unchanged. “What we’re trying to do is leveraging relationships more than ever,” said Pavoncelli. “And that’s relationships with talent mostly, but also co-producers, buyers, broadcasters. Those relationships, which in our business are so important, then become vital.”
Italian production spend drops for first time since 2018
Investment in content production destined for Italy’s film, TV and streaming industries dropped 7.4% to €2 billion ($2.24 billion) in 2025, compared with the previous year, with the scripted sphere suffering most amid uncertainty over government support of the country’s tax credits and the ongoing transition in viewership from linear to streaming.
That was the main takeaway from a report issued by Italian TV producers’ association APA, which noted that this was the first decline in spend since 2018.
After reaping the rewards of a protracted growth spurt, Italian producers in 2025 faced a forced slowdown as the country’s right-wing government dithered with ongoing regulatory modifications to tax incentives for domestic film and TV production. The domestic tax credit modifications impasse did not impact Italy’s international production rebates, which remained firmly in place.
The report underlined that Italian scripted content continues to reach broad and demographically diverse audiences. In the linear broadcasting sphere, Lux Vide’s “Sandokan,” a modern take on the classic pirate tale adapted from Italian author Emilio Salgari’s iconic book series, and BiBiFilm’s “La Preside,” about a feisty female principal of a school in a crime-ridden Naples neighborhood, both drew a hefty average of over 4.6 million viewers per episode. In the streaming space, Picomedia’s Naples-set prison drama “The Sea Beyond” is still a big hit on state broadcaster RAI’s streaming and linear outlets, as is Aurora TV’s period drama “Il Paradiso delle Signore.”
The standout Italian original on Netflix is serial killer series “The Monster of Florence,” directed by genre specialist Stefano Sollima that launched from the 2025 Venice Film Festival and garnered 9.7 million global views in its first week in October 2025.
Finding the audiences — wherever they may be
Audiences are arguably consuming more content than ever before — just not in the ways that they used to, with YouTube, TikTok and other platforms competing for eyeballs alongside old-fashioned TV shows. So where does that leave drama producers? “Audiences are being really choosy about how they invest their time, and we need to up our game,” said “Black Mirror” and “Sharp Objects” executive producer Jessica Rhoades. “It is harder and harder to hit the bull’s eye,” agreed Anna Marsh, the CEO of Studiocanal and the deputy CEO and chief content officer for Canal+. When it comes to Gen Z audiences in particular, “there’s just no room for error.”
Gauging audience habits to thread that needle can be both art and science. Jamie Lynn, exec VP of co-production and distribution at Fremantle, expects to see more “razor-specific audience targeting” that will allow companies to develop projects for specific demos “at the right size and scale.” But producers and commissioners are bombarded with more viewing metrics than ever before; as Rhoades put it, “Listening to the audience too much is a fool’s errand.”
“We have a lot of data,” said Emanuele Marchesi, the director of Sky Studios Italia, the original programming and scripted television division of Sky Italia. “We have to find the courage to create new audiences.”
How to do that could just come down to good old-fashioned storytelling. “I like to think that we have the courage of our convictions,” said Andrew Plotkin, executive VP and head of drama development at Sony Pictures Television. “You never quite know how something’s going to be received, so all we can do is take something on that we feel passionate about. The audience is fickle. You never know what they’re going to connect with.”
“More money than ever”
This year saw the first edition of the MIA Market’s new European Investment Hub, which aims to help European industry professionals navigate the wide range of financial tools at their disposal and “foster direct contact between producers and representatives from these various entities who can provide guidance,” according to Tridente. Right on queue, Rome witnessed the launch this week of a €100 million ($112 million) fund — backed by Media Capital Technologies and Italy’s RP1 Holding — to finance audiovisual productions and film distribution in Italy and boost the country’s flagging indie sector.
From institutional investors and private-equity groups to brands and family offices, “there’s definitely more money in the marketplace than there ever has been in the 25 years I’ve been doing this,” said CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, who’s co-head of the agency’s media finance department and its international film group. For investors, the emergence of new formats and the booming creator economy offer inroads into the industry beyond the traditional realms of film and television. For producers, “I think we’re finding right now there are a range of international financing opportunities…[that] give you opportunities beyond the main U.S. and U.K. gatekeepers,” said Andrea Calderwood, of “Die My Love” producer Potboiler Productions.
Those opportunities can take myriad forms, from financing for an individual project or slate to an investment in a company that can catapult it to the next level. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution — either for the investors or their creative partners — and such arrangements, like any marriage, require give-and-take from both sides. Due diligence not only means having “your books ready” and being “realistic about your prospects” for a return on investment, according to Christopher Borde, managing director at the U.K.’s Media & Investment Advisors. It also means finding the right partner that’s aligned with your goals as a creative. “Know who you are and what you want to do,” said Celine Dornier, a content executive at Finland-U.K. based film investment fund IPR.VC.
European verticals ready for lift-off?
It’s still early days for vertical content in much of the world, though a recent study projected that the format will generate $150 billion in revenue in global markets outside of China this year. In Europe, the interest — and investment — is rising, with German powerhouse Constantin Entertainment among the continent’s players entering the vertical market earlier this year. “Are we at an inflection point? I think the answer is yes, in terms of people’s cultural habits and why this might work now versus just 18 months ago,” said Andrew Plotkin, executive VP and head of drama development at Sony Pictures Television.
Digital platforms like YouTube and TikTok are beginning to invest in original vertical content, while legacy media companies are also leaning in, said former Netflix exec Kelly Luegenbiehl, founder of vertical video and microdrama outfit Shorties Studios. “Ultimately, what is their strategy going to be in this vertical space?” she asked, acknowledging that the burgeoning market is “definitely not for the risk-averse.” “It is definitely the Wild West. I think that there is no clear path for profitability — there’s no exact roadmap yet.”
It’s the prospect of getting in on the ground floor that makes vertical content so enticing, not only for investors but for creators. “Creativity is alive and well in the vertical space,” said Luegenbiehl, noting that without a playbook, her company has been “able to try things and take risks and move pretty quickly.” “In the vertical space, I like to say we’re in the business of yes,” she said, noting that the people driving the format’s growth are laying the groundwork for the successful industry to come. “If you build it, the audience will come.”
Horror hits home in Rome
It’s been decades since the golden age of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava, but if there’s any doubt that Italian horror is enjoying a renaissance, look no further than Paolo Strippoli’s high-concept thriller “The Spiral,” which is repping Italy in the best international feature Oscar race. The talk during a lively MIA panel centered on some of the trends driving the current horror boom, from the rise of digital-native content creators to the eventizing of the theatrical experience and the “broadening beyond the elevated, arthouse horror that perhaps was only for a certain audience,” said Rachael Labes, manager of acquisitions and productions at horror streamer Shudder.
Savvy distributors are honing in on how to “create an aesthetic or a brand or a character that people want to seek out,” said Peter Kuplowsky, a producer and independent programmer for TIFF’s Midnight Madness strand. “You’re not just selling the one individual horror film. You’re selling the next film as well, and the idea that you want to create a brand around the filmmaker.”
Horror has always been a way to “discover new voices and [do] good business,” noted Andrea Romeo, founder and CEO of I Wonder, which released “Backrooms” and “The Substance” in Italy. So how to find the next “Backrooms”-style breakout? “TikTok’s definitely driving a lot of the conversation,” said Jonny Bunning, of “Faces of Death” and “It Ends” U.K. distributor Signature Entertainment. Kuplowsky said there’s a “gold rush” for YouTube and other online creators — “No one wants to get blamed that they missed something” — while Labes described “a frenzy toward finding the next Kane Parsons.” Still, “you can’t acquire a trend; you can only acquire a specific film or a specific director,” the Shudder exec noted. “Seeing the success and learning the lessons and investing in talent and letting a voice come through: That’s the lesson.”
Nick Vivarelli contributed reporting to this story.