CANNES: The weather has been kind to Cannes on Monday morning. The light drizzle that marked the two-day long MIPDOC 2005, has given way to clear, if not sunny skies, on Monday as the five-day television marketplace gets underway.

Reed MIDEM officials are busy coping with arrangements for the estimated 12,913 participants who will descend on the French Riviera in the next five days, hoping to strike deals that will make TV back home, in their native countries, that much richer. Attendance, say officials, is expected to be 10 per cent higher than last year, when 11,695 participants registered. This time, 98 countries, as against 92 last year, are expected to attend.

The number of total TV buyers at the market is expected to see a sharp 24 per cent increase, up to 3,565 from 2,868 last year. 3,889 companies are likely to attend the market, that's marked with 515 stalls, a colourful Korean pavilion that's also displaying its cultural diversity along the Riviera and a number of conferences offering insight into the business of TV.

The Indian presence at the market, expected to be higher than earlier years, too has received a shot in the arm with the selection of Delhi-based ESP Films' pitch at MIPDOC's co-production challenge held on Sunday evening.