A total of €70 million provided by Scheme in past 5 years
- €7.9m will support the production of 65 high-quality TV and radio projects, including animation, drama, documentary, entertainment, and educational programmes, with 95% of funding for independent producers.
- €706k will support community broadcasters in creating social benefit programming that facilitates better access to and representation of the diversity of local communities in Ireland.
Coimisiún na Meán has announced the allocation of €8.6m of funding for broadcasters and independent producers arising from two recent rounds of Sound & Vision 4, the Broadcasting Funding Scheme. The Scheme supports the production of high-quality Irish and English language programming, based on Irish culture, heritage, and experience for broadcast on national, local and community TV and radio services.
Media Development Commissioner, Rónán Ó Domhnaill said: “Sound & Vision remains a vital funding source for broadcasters and independent producers from all over Ireland and brings the total amount of funding allocated by the Scheme to over €70 million since 2020. Sound & Vision funding boosts Ireland’s creative sector, bringing to life television, radio and film content in both the Irish and English languages. I would like to thank Minister Catherine Martin for her continued support of the Scheme and all those applicants who submitted proposals, and we look forward to seeing the programmes hit our screens and airwaves.
“This latest allocation of €8.6 million will enable independent producers and broadcasters to create engaging and thought-provoking content that resonates with audiences across Ireland. The programming produced will celebrate our cultural and linguistic heritage, amplify voices from marginalized communities, and explore underrepresented perspectives.”
Round 51
A total of 165 applications seeking over €18.8m in funding were submitted for consideration under Round 51 of the Sound & Vision 4 scheme, with just over €7.9m in funding awarded. This Round includes additional exchequer funding secured by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media, Catherine Martin TD.
Round 51 will support the production of 65 TV and radio projects for audiences around the country, with €6.7m allocated to 27 TV projects, and over €1.1m for 38 radio productions. This Round focused on programming about gender equality, diversity, and inclusion of new Irish communities and voices.
Nearly 35% of the recommended funding (€2.7m) will support the production of Irish/bilingual projects, and 95% of the funding (€7.4m) goes directly to the independent production sector.
Some notable projects funded in Round 51 include:
- An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: This two-part documentary production by Gambit Pictures for RTÉ One, will follow a year in the life of Ireland’s most pristine temperate rainforest which has been created by Eoghan Daltun, in the face of a global environmental crisis and biodiversity loss.
- This is a Quiet Love/An Grá Ciúin: Produced by Curious North for TG4, this bilingual feature-length documentary will find four deaf couples sign the stories of how they met and fell in love. These cinematic love letters will weave a tapestry of deaf experience over a 70-year period.
- 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.
- Blúiríní Osnádúrtha: An Irish-language radio production for Raidió na Life which will see volunteers research and record Irish ghost stories from Dublin and beyond.
- Alternatyva Alternayvai: A television production for Dublin Community Television which will follow an opera production while celebrating Lithuanian culture.
- Video Nasty: Produced by Deadpan Pictures, this comedy-drama tells the story of three teenagers who go on an epic quest to complete a cult VHS collection and will be broadcast on Virgin Media Television.
- Adam Loves Adventure: This comedy-themed quest show for pre-schoolers is set in space and stars real-life hero Adam King, a problem-solving space explorer whose prime directive is to use his big heart and space smarts to help aliens with their everyday problems. Produced by Kavaleer for broadcast on RTÉjnr.
- Grá ar an Trá: Produced by Macalla Teoranta, entertainment series Grá ar an Trá returns for a second season on Virgin Media Television.
- 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.
Round 52
Round 52 of the Sound & Vision 4 Scheme was a tailored Social Benefit Round and was informed by the Community Media Policy and Social Benefit Framework launched in 2021.The funding under this non-competitive round was 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.
The funding will support a range of activities across 19 stations, including the following activities:
- Ros FM will build on training previously funded by Sound & Vision and offer QQI level 4 training to approximately 20 volunteers.
- Athlone Community Radio will deliver QQI level 3 & 4 training to staff, volunteers, and community groups.
- Community Radio Youghal will use funding to undertake increased engagement with their local community service, St Raphael’s, a local facility for adults with disabilities.
- Funding forCommunity Radio Castlebar will be used to further develop their engagement with Spéire Nua, a group that works with ex-offenders and the Involve Youth Project which works with Traveller youth.
- Funding will be used by Flirt FM to continue its successful ‘Community Takeover’ initiative, which has opened the airwaves to a range of community groups such as Foróige and Galway Autism Partnership by allowing them to produce and host their own programmes.
This is the fourth Social Benefit Round operated by the Scheme and brings the total amount of funding offered directly to Community broadcasters through the Social Benefit Rounds to €2.5m.
A list of successful applications is available here (Round 51) and here (Round 52).
