Mifed is poised to change owners yet again, although no announcement is planned until after this year's market has finished trading.

The event's current owners - Fiera di Milano and Rassegne - are understood to be merging to create an new parent operation in which Mipcom and Mip-TV organiser Reed Midem will also have a small stake.

Mifed product manager Elena Lloyd refused to confirm the impending management changeover. However, with competition for the autumn market slot heating up, Lloyd did confirm that she is working on wooing Mifed's clients back next year with a new proposal to extend the market by an extra day.

The new schedule would see Mifed maintain its popular Saturday screenings while the market will run through to Friday. In that way, says Lloyd, "We would be able to offer clients an extra 162 screening slots."

"We have had so many requests for extra screenings this year. It's never happened before, but it's also as a result of the London Screenings not really taking place," says Lloyd.

"The current screenings schedule has drawn complaints from distributors, who pay for stands and personnel, but are only able to screen each movie once at Mifed if it has already premiered elsewhere, and twice if it's a market premiere," she adds.

Lloyd's proposal to give Mifed an extra day will have to be discussed with Fiera di Milano, the organisation that manages the sprawling complex. But while any change to Mifed's dates could require many of the Fiera's 85 annual trade events to shift by a day, Lloyd is confident the change will implemented next year. "It is something we really want - and need - to do," she says.

Meanwhile, organisation body Rassegne is also working to improve on its services. Technological improvements will be made to the screening rooms. And while clients this year were able to dabble in sushi for the first time, next year should see the Fiera offer a variety of restaurants and stands with food from various Italian regions, explains Rassegne's Andrea Vaiani.

To the dismay of many, one thing that won't be changed next year is the Babylonian entry route to the various pavilions. The route, Lloyd explains, has been mapped out so that every area gets the same amount of traffic from busily "commuting" buyers. And if new points of entry are opened, "it will just cause confusion as the signs won't make sense."

Adds Vaiani: "The route isn't actually longer than it was last year. It's just a different route that takes you to the new pavilion - which is much nicer and more comfortable than the previous one."