MIP London 2026 creator track: buyer week playbook

If you still think "creator stuff" lives on the internet and "real deals" happen somewhere else... London's about to ruin that belief for you.

Because in the week of February 22, 2026, the traditional TV power circuit is basically stapling itself to the creator economy and calling it strategy. And yes, they want your IP. They also want your audience. They also want to know if you can deliver like a grown-up.

Creators don't get ignored anymore. We get processed. Learn the system before it learns you.

What happened

MIP London 2026 runs Feb 22-24, 2026 at The Savoy and IET London (Savoy Place). It's positioning itself as a central hub during the same week as the invite-only London Screenings (which run Feb 22-27, 2026). ([mip-london.com](https://www.mip-london.com/))

This year, MIP is putting extra weight behind a dedicated Creator Economy track: mainstage keynotes featuring YouTube (Pedro Pina), Goalhanger (Tony Pastor), and Sidemen Productions (Victor Bengtsson + Adam Cohen). Plus panels pulling in platform execs across podcasts, social, and ad-supported streaming (Tubi/Pluto/DAZN are on the slate). ([mip-london.com](https://www.mip-london.com/content/dam/sitebuilder/rm/mip-london/2026/press/YouTube-Goalhanger-and-Sidemen-Productions-Confirmed-for-Mainstage-Keynotes-at-MIP-LONDON.pdf.coredownload.706260298.pdf))

Context that matters: this whole London move exists because MIPTV ended in Cannes (final edition April 2024) and RX rebuilt the "early-year market" around London's buyer week instead. The first MIP London (Feb 2025) pulled in 2,800+ delegates and 1,000+ buyers, per RX. ([ibc.org](https://www.ibc.org/distribution-consumption/news/miptv-to-end-as-rx-london-readies-2025-launch-of-mip-london/20346?utm_source=openai))

Why creators should care

1) Attention is moving to the living room, and YouTube is eating that screen time. Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge had YouTube at 11.6% of TV viewing in February 2025 (and up big versus two years prior). If your pitch still sounds like "we're a social channel," you're underselling what buyers now see on their own dashboards. ([nielsen.com](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/youtube-achieves-best-monthly-performance-to-date-and-pulls-ahead-in-nielsens-february-media-distributor-gauge/?utm_source=openai))

2) Podcasts aren't "audio" anymore. They're video shows with RSS as an optional accessory. YouTube says 1B+ monthly active viewers watch podcast content (as of January 2025). Goalhanger's basically a case study in that shift, and it's why Hollywood money keeps sniffing around the category. ([blog.youtube](https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/1-billion-monthly-podcast-users/?utm_source=openai))

3) FAST and AVOD platforms want creator libraries because they need volume that already has fans. Tubi has been loudly expanding its creator catalog to 5,000+ episodes and says it sits at 100M monthly active users. That's not "brand deal" territory. That's "distribution channel" territory. ([corporate.tubitv.com](https://corporate.tubitv.com/press/tubi-expands-content-collection-to-over-5000-episodes-from-digital-first-creators/?utm_source=openai))

4) Microdramas are the weird little cousin that suddenly has money. Short-drama apps have surged fast: Sensor Tower pegged global in-app revenue for short-drama apps at nearly $700M in Q1 2025 and about $2.3B cumulative by March 2025. These formats are now showing up in the same industry conversations as "real TV" because... well, the revenue showed up first. ([sensortower.com](https://sensortower.com/blog/state-of-short-drama-apps-2025?utm_source=openai))

The big takeaway: these markets aren't "inviting creators." They're redefining what counts as premium. Audience-first distribution, repeatable formats, franchisable IP, predictable production. If you've got that, you're not begging for a deal - you're shopping options.

Here's the uncomfortable part: the more money that enters creator-land, the less forgiving the expectations get. Deadlines. Rights. Deliverables. Nobody cares that you're "a one-person team."

What to do next

If you want to play in this lane - whether you're actually going to London or just benefiting from the ripple effect - do the boring prep that makes the exciting deals possible:

Turn your channel into a "show" on paper. Simple doc: what the format is, what a season looks like, what an episode costs, how fast you can ship, and what makes it repeatable.
Clean up your rights before anyone asks. Music, clips, talent releases, trademarks, ownership splits. The fastest way to lose a buyer is "uhh I think we own it?"
Bring proof that travels across platforms. Not just views - returning viewers, session time, retention curves, and what happens when you publish on TV-like surfaces (YouTube on TV, long-form comps, full-episode podcasts).
Package a "multi-window" plan. One cut for YouTube, one for FAST/AVOD, one for shorts, one for audio. Same IP, different wrappers. (Yes, this is work. That's why it pays.)
Decide your red lines now. Exclusivity, control, brand safety clauses, usage of your likeness, sequel/spinoff rights. If you wait until the contract shows up, you'll negotiate emotionally. Bad idea.