Who Is Animation For, And Who Will Pay For It? 5 Takeaways From Rome’s MIA Market 2026

ROME, Italy — The 12th edition of MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or International Audiovisual Market) came to a close over the weekend with a strong presence from the international filmmaking community. Over 100 projects from 43 countries were presented across the various programs in Rome, reaffirming MIA as an essential market in the European landscape.

This year, animation was more prominent than ever, with MIA introducing a new gap-financing market for animated series that provided projects from around the world with significant financing and the opportunity to complete their funding with the help of distributors, co-producers, and other financiers. Projects from 24 countries were submitted, with 19 projects representing 15 countries selected for the first edition of the gap-financing market.

Though there was a palpable excitement at the market this year, there was also one recurring feeling — that of uncertainty in changing times. Between mergers, big firings at Netflix, and shrinking budgets, it’s hard to know what the future holds for the industry. Even the question of AI felt like an unspoken specter that virtually everyone refused to acknowledge, while still being very much felt as a concern.

Here are a few takeaways from the 2026 edition of the Rome MIA Market.

International Co-Productions: More Important Than Ever

With the big studios undergoing mergers, there was a palpable sense of concern about the shrinking landscape of places to go to help produce new animated projects. But there was also a clear sense that international co-productions are and will continue to be an important way to make sure new and established voices in the industry get their foot in the door. Going smaller but with more players on board seems to be one workaround to the shrinking of the industry.

Of the projects presented at both the series and feature markets, most titles were international co-productions. Not only was there a sense that going international would help projects get financing faster, but it would also help a project reach new audiences more easily. One notable example was Storie in Viaggio (Stories on the Run), based on a series of books and produced by La Sarraz Pictures. The series was pitched as Love, Death + Robots for kids, an animated journey through Italian myths, traditions, and folklore, with each episode being done by a different animator in a different visual style — from cutout paper to 2D to stop motion. The producers were seeking international partners and talked about the possibilities of going beyond just Italian stories to also explore the local folklore of other countries involved in the production.

New Investment Sources Are Needed

When Cartoon Brew had a chance to speak with MIA director Gaia Tridente after the end of the market, she pressed the issue of financing. “With commissioners becoming more selective and financing structures increasingly complex, producers need to explore new sources of investment and international partnerships,” Tridente told us.

“This is also why we launched the European Investment Hub at MIA 2026, bringing together public institutions, private investors, funds and financial institutions to explore new financing models and improve access to capital across the audiovisual industry. This is particularly relevant to animation, where long production cycles and the development of original IP require substantial investment.”

Audience Definitions Are Blurring

During a children’s pubcaster meeting panel, a report was shared from a closed-door discussion between representatives of various broadcasters in Europe. One of the big topics discussed was that of the increasingly blurred definition of children’s target audiences. The conclusion was that traditional age categories are no longer accurate representations of what children are consuming. It’s always been true that kids will be interested in media aimed at older audiences, but now more than ever, kids are not really responding to the specific targets broadcasters are focusing on. The problem is that if the industry can no longer define its audience accurately, then how can it develop stories that will find the right audience?

This becomes especially tricky when it comes to slightly older audiences, around the 10–14 demographic, where competition for audiences’ attention becomes harder and the offerings slimmer.

A Lack Of Stories For Teens

That same report made it a point to highlight the challenges of reaching the 10–14 audience, mostly due to a lack of European animation for preteens and teenagers. During a panel about the challenges facing animation distribution, Monica Levy from Federation Studios (Ollie & Moon, Kung Fu Wa) talked about the difficulty of producing and selling animation aimed at those ages because broadcasters rely more on live-action titles to cater to teenagers. Not only are audiences growing out of traditional children’s programming and instead discovering projects aimed at older audiences, but public broadcasters in Europe are also struggling to offer enough alternatives to live-action programming or anime. This last bit is important because teens are very much still consuming animation; it’s just not necessarily programming made in Europe.

Seeing the different projects presented at MIA, particularly at the gap-financing market and a presentation about Italian animation, it was clear that the vast majority of projects were aimed at very young audiences, with only a couple meant for older kids or teens. It’s part of why Wildwood feels so special, even if it very much isn’t the first PG-13 animated film. There just aren’t enough.

IP, Brand-Making Remain Crucial

It probably isn’t surprising, but IP remains crucial in ensuring a project gets made. Having some established property to adapt means having data showing that the property has already found success in another medium, and fans who would check out an adaptation. Most of the pitches at the gap-financing market were projects based on books, and considering they already have most of their financing in order, it’s easy to see how having established IP helped. From adaptations of the Juniper Mae and DragoXP books to news of Barry Loser getting an Italian partner right before the show’s presentation at MIA, it’s clear that in these turbulent times, IP is a way to help a project get made.

At the distributors’ panel, Diego Ibáñez Belaustegui from DeAPlaneta Entertainment (Milo) talked about the importance of not only having established IP but also brand-building. For distributors and producers, knowing how to build and expand a brand is important beyond just the initial TV show or film. Belaustegui highlighted the success of Milo in Europe and Bluey in Australia as examples of brands expanding exponentially beyond how they originated to become global phenomena through licensing and international exposure.