From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, has today (Friday 12 April) welcomed the announcement by Coimisiún na Meán of the award of €8.6 million to broadcasters and independent producers under rounds 51 and 52 of the Broadcasting Fund Sound and Vision Scheme.
Speaking today Minister Martin said:
"The awards announced today will not only continue the support for the independent production sector, but will also provide more high quality public service content for Irish audiences. The focus on content around equality, inclusion and new Irish communities, is of particular importance right now. I also welcome the support being granted to our community broadcasters. The training and development opportunities provided by this funding will enable them to continue their valuable contributions to local communities and the media sector as a whole."
Round 51 of Sound and Vision focused on programming about gender equality, diversity and inclusion of new Irish communities and voices, and the level of allocations was enabled, in part, by additional exchequer funding secured by Minister Martin. Round 52 was a dedicated social benefit round for Community Broadcasters focused on providing programming and training and development opportunities.
Noting that applications for the next round of funding under Sound and Vision are currently being sought, Minister Martin added:
“Supporting our independent producers is vital and this is why I continue to make increased funding available to the Sound and Vision scheme. The next round of the scheme, which will seek to support content targeted at or co-created by children and young people, is now open for applications and I would encourage all eligible producers to apply."
The total of awards made is just over €7.9 million and will support the production of 65 TV and radio projects for audiences around the country.
€6.7 million is being allocated to 27 TV projects, and over €1.1 million for 38 radio productions.
This Round focused on programming about gender equality, diversity, and inclusion of new Irish communities and voices, and the level of funding available was augmented by additional exchequer funding provided by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media.
Nearly 35% of the recommended funding (€2.7 million) will support the production of Irish/Bilingual projects.
95% of the funding (€7.4 million) goes directly to the independent production sector.
Some notable projects funded in Round 51 include:
Irish Music Month: A radio production for Hot Press, operated by the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI) which showcases and celebrates the best of new and upcoming musical talent, will be broadcast on 21 local commercial radio stations around Ireland.
Echo Eco: This series of hour-long programmes by Newstalk will explore climate change and environmental issues and will be hosted by renowned environmental scientist Dr Tara Shine.
Alternatyva Alternayvai: A television production for Dublin Community Television which will follow an opera production while celebrating Lithuanian culture.
Am Abú: A new innovative Irish language programme produced by Wonder Pics for kids. The historical drama series for TG4 will look to encourage media literacy and be the first production to use an Unreal Engine Virtual Reality workflow.
Grá ar an Trá: Produced by Macalla Teoranta, entertainment series Grá ar an Trá returns for a second season on Virgin Media Television.
Round 52 of the Sound & Vision 4 Scheme was a tailored Social Benefit Round, a non-competitive round with funding allocated to Community Broadcasters who adequately demonstrated how they would better facilitate access to and representation of their respective communities and help increase the range of community participation in the production and distribution of broadcast content.
The funding round also had a particular focus on Community Broadcasters providing programming and quality training and development opportunities for station staff and volunteers, and will support a range of activities across 19 stations.
This is the fourth Social Benefit Round operated by the Scheme since 2020 and brings the total amount of funding offered directly to Community broadcasters through the Social Benefit Rounds to €2.5 million.
Full details of the successful projects are available on the Coimisiún na Meán’s website.
Independent producers and broadcasters can now apply to Round 53 of the scheme. More information is available on Coimisiún na Meán’s website.