Paris: Global sporting icon and legendary football player David Beckham will be the keynote speaker at the 58th edition of the Cannes TV market Digital MipTV. The event is all set to begin on 12 April and will be a virtual affair for the second consecutive year.
The 2020 edition was also forced to go digital due to the pandemic.
In his first in-depth television industry keynote, Beckham will talk about launching his own production company, Studio 99, and his global ambitions for the content studio, MipTV confirmed on Tuesday. He will also talk about some of his current projects for a variety of global networks including A Whole New Ball Game, charting the contemporary history of the Premier League; World War Shoe, a documentary mini-series charting the untold story behind sports brands Adidas and Puma; and the upcoming definitive David Beckham biopic.
In Conversation with David Beckham will be hosted by award-winning director and producer Ben Winston. A nine-time Emmy winner, Winston was also the executive producer of this month’s Grammy Awards and will produce and direct the Friends reunion later this year. The show will take place on 13 April at 18.00 CEST, and will be available on catch-up until 14 May.
After retiring from a football career that saw him play for over two decades at some of the world’s most successful clubs, Beckham has established himself as a successful entrepreneur. His independent brand management operation, DB Ventures, manages several partnerships including with Diageo, Adidas, Tudor, and EA Sports in addition to overseeing investments such as Guild Esports plc. In 2018, he became an owner of a football club and founded Studio 99 a year later. Studio 99 is a global production and content studio that focuses on documentary films, series, and format development. It is also a commercial studio and produces a wide range of both editorial and marketing content for global brand clients.
Earlier this month, MipTV had also confirmed American TV and film personality Marc Anthony as a keynote speaker for the event. The five-day mega event currently in its 58th year traditionally brings together distributors, producers, buyers, and commissioners of drama, doc, kids, factual, and formats programming in Cannes, France, for a week of business meetings, conferences, and global networking.
