Creative Europe Programme: Innovative Tools and Business Models

Objective

Within the specific objective of promoting innovation, competitiveness and scalability of the European audiovisual sector, one of the priorities of the MEDIA strand is:

• to enhance the circulation, promotion, online and theatrical distribution of European audiovisual works, within the Union and internationally in the new digital environment; including through innovative business model.

Scope

• The MEDIA strand shall provide support for the following action:
  • Promotion and marketing tools, including on line and through the use of data analytics, to increase the prominence, visibility, cross-border access, and audience reach of European work.
• The Innovative tools and business models action is aimed at encouraging the development and/or the spread of innovative tools and business models to improve the visibility, availability, audience and diversity of European works in the digital age and/or the competitiveness and/or the greening process of the European audiovisual industry.

Funding Information

• The estimated available call budget is EUR 8.500.000.
• Duration: Projects should not normally exceed 36 months.

Expected Results

• Improve the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry and seize the benefits of the innovative developments in technology and business models;
• Improve the adaptation of the European audiovisual industry to the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence and the development of virtual worlds (also called Metaverse(s));
• Improve the greening process of the European audiovisual industry;
• Improve the production and circulation of European audiovisual works in the digital era;

Activities To Be Funded

• The projects can include in particular:
  • Subtitling or accessibility/discoverability/recommendation tools to be widely used across borders and across platforms in order to improve the visibility, the availability and the audience potential of European audiovisual works;
  • Business tools improving the efficiency and the transparency of the audiovisual markets: automated rights management system, technology for data gathering and analysis;
  • Business models seeking to optimise the synergies and complementarities between the distribution platforms (festivals, cinemas, VOD);
  • Business tools exploring new modes of production, financing, distribution or promotion enabled or enhanced by new technology (AI, big data, blockchain, Virtual worlds/Metaverse, NFT, etc.);
  • Innovative tools and business models improving the greening process of the audiovisual industry.
• The action does not cover the development of hardware (e.g. cameras, virtual headsets).

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • Creative Europe Participating Countries:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
      • non-EU countries:
        • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.
  • be established in one of the countries participating fully in the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe Programme and be owned directly or indirectly, wholly or by majority participation, by nationals from such countries. When a company is publicly listed, the location of the stock exchange will in principle determine its nationality.
  • be independent European audiovisual production companies that can demonstrate recent experience in producing internationally distributed works.

For more information, visit EC.