Innovative tools and business models

Creative Europe MEDIA CREA-MEDIA funds projects that develop or scale innovative digital tools and business models to improve the visibility, availability, cross-border reach, competitiveness, greening and AI readiness of the European audiovisual sector, including videogames. Eligible applicants are legal entities established in Creative Europe participating countries; the topic has an indicative budget of €14,000,000, funds up to 80% of eligible costs, normally supports projects up to 36 months and explicitly excludes hardware development. Applications are submitted in a single-stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with a deadline of 14 January 2027 (17:00 Brussels time) and are evaluated on relevance, quality of content and activities, project management and dissemination with a pass threshold of 70/100.

What it funds

Grants to develop or scale innovative digital tools and business models that increase the visibility, availability, cross‑border reach and diversity of European audiovisual works and/or improve competitiveness and greening of the audiovisual sector (including videogames). Priority areas include AI-enabled solutions, subtitling/accessibility/discoverability/recommendation tools, automated rights management, data analytics, platform synergy business models, novel production/financing/distribution tools and greening measures. The action excludes development of hardware (eg cameras, headsets).

Who can apply

Legal persons (public or private bodies) established in eligible Creative Europe/MEDIA countries, including SMEs, cultural organisations, research bodies and international organisations. Single applicants or consortia are accepted; affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors and third parties giving in-kind contributions may participate. Natural persons are not eligible except self-employed/natural-person beneficiaries where allowed.

Eligibility and selection highlights

Projects must show European cross-border impact, sustainability and inclusion (gender balance, diversity), transparency on inputs/results and plans to attract private co‑investment. Financial and operational capacity checks apply; project duration normally up to 36 months. Evaluation uses relevance, quality of content, project management and dissemination; overall pass threshold 70/100.

Applicants must submit electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the CREA application templates and provide required annexes (declaration on independence, budgets, CVs, etc.). Proposals limited to the page and formatting rules set in the call; pre-financing guarantees, certificates and other checks may be required during grant preparation.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call conditions, budget details, eligibility rules and application templates are in the Call Document and Annexes on the Portal topic page Call document and templates.

Opportunity snapshot

Eligible applicant types

Funding type and financial modalities

Consortium requirement and project structure

Submissions may be made by a single legal entity (mono-beneficiary) or by a consortium (minimum two beneficiaries where consortium proposals are used). Affiliated entities may participate and will be validated. Associated partners can be involved without receiving EU funds. Duration: projects normally up to 36 months. Work package structure required (minimum): WP1 Project management (mandatory) and WPs covering year-by-year activities (WP2, WP3, WP4).

Geographic eligibility (beneficiary scope)

Target sectors and topics

Project maturity and expected activities

Budget and funding scale

Application and submission process

Evaluation, award criteria and process

Maximum score = 100 points. Overall threshold to pass = 70 points. Ties (ex aequo) broken using Relevance, then Dissemination, then Quality scores. Evaluation result communications and complaint procedures are handled via the Portal.

Legal, financial, ethics and administrative conditions

Applicants must be legal entities and register in the Participant Register (PIC). Financial capacity checks may be required (coordinator normally checked except public bodies or cases below thresholds). Operational capacity will be assessed through the project management award criterion. Exclusion rules apply (e.g. bankruptcy, fraud, grave professional misconduct, EU restrictive measures). Ethics, data protection and values clauses apply. Project deliverables, milestones and WP structure will be formalised in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement. The grant will use the CREA Model Grant Agreement (CREA MGA) and follow the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 rules. Transparency: beneficiary and grant award publication is standard unless waived for justified reasons.

Eligible / ineligible costs and budget categories

Application templates and required documents

Applications must use the standard CREA Application Form (Part A online generated; Part B downloadable template to be completed and uploaded as PDF; Part C online). Mandatory annexes and templates are available in the Submission System. Mandatory supporting documents typically include: Declaration on standards and independence (signed and uploaded), Consortium Agreement (recommended), detailed budget (Annex 2), CVs for key staff (Annex 2 to Part B where requested), and any call-specific documents listed in the call fiche. The CREA Model Grant Agreement and related Annexes (Annex 1 Description of Action, Annex 2 Budget, Annex 2a unit cost rules if applicable, Annex 3 Accessions) will be used at grant preparation.

Application stages and timeline

Success rates

No historical success rate is provided in the call text. Success depends on quality against award criteria, score threshold (70/100) and available topic budget (€14,000,000). Proposals are ranked; funding is allocated within available budget. Applicants should assume competitive selection and prepare high-quality, well-justified proposals with clear EU added value, sustainability, business viability and dissemination/impact plans.

Support available and contacts

Key risks and compliance points applicants must address

Summary: What is this opportunity about?

This Creative Europe MEDIA call finances projects that develop or roll out innovative digital tools and business models to increase the visibility, availability, cross-border reach, diversity and audience of European audiovisual works (including videogames), strengthen competitiveness, accelerate greening of the sector and enable responsible uptake of Artificial Intelligence. It funds budget-based action grants for legal entities established in Creative Europe participating countries. Projects should deliver measurable impact on distribution, discoverability, rights management, market transparency, business model innovation and environmental performance, include strong dissemination, gender balance and inclusion measures, and demonstrate sustainable financing and the ability to attract private investment. Applications are submitted in a single-stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the CREA application templates; evaluation is competitive against detailed award criteria with a 70/100 pass threshold and grants are implemented under the CREA Model Grant Agreement 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Call document and full topic fiche available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Innovative tools and business models CREA-MEDIA Call topic details.

This Creative Europe MEDIA call supports projects that develop or spread innovative tools and business models for the European audiovisual industry, including videogames, with a focus on visibility, availability, cross border reach, competitiveness, artificial intelligence readiness and greener practices478914. The 2027 topic is open for submission, uses a single stage procedure, and is positioned as a project grant under the Creative Europe Programme.

What the call supports

The action is designed to help European audiovisual players respond to market change in the digital age. The funded activities may include subtitling and accessibility or recommendation tools, automated rights management, data gathering and analytics, business models that improve synergies between festivals, cinemas and video on demand, new production or promotion models enabled by AI, big data, blockchain, virtual worlds or NFT related approaches, and tools that improve the environmental performance of the sector. Hardware development is excluded.

Applicants are expected to show how the project will improve the circulation and visibility of European audiovisual works online and across borders, strengthen the competitiveness of the sector, support adaptation to AI, and contribute to greener production and distribution practices. Proposals should also include strategies for gender balance, inclusion, diversity, representativeness, transparency and the disclosure of project inputs and results to public authorities, Member States and the industry.

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are legal entities established in Creative Europe participating countries, including EU Member States and certain non EU countries associated to the programme. Applicants must also be directly or indirectly owned, wholly or by majority participation, by nationals from countries participating fully in the MEDIA strand. Natural persons are not eligible except for self employed persons whose company has no separate legal personality. International organisations may apply, EU bodies other than the Joint Research Centre cannot participate, and entities subject to EU restrictive or conditionality measures are excluded.

Single beneficiaries are allowed, and consortium applications must include at least 2 applicants who are beneficiaries. Associated partners may participate without receiving grant money, while affiliated entities may participate with similar rights and obligations to beneficiaries but do not count towards the minimum consortium requirement. Financial support to third parties is not allowed.

Key eligibility points

Applicants must register in the Participant Register before submission and must later validate their legal and financial status during grant preparation. The call documentation also requires compliance with financial capacity, operational capacity and exclusion rules, and reserves the possibility of requesting additional documents for validation or financial assessment.

Funding terms and budget

The 2027 budget for this topic is €14,000,000. The grant is budget based, uses actual costs with unit cost and flat rate elements, and applies a maximum EU funding rate of 80 percent of eligible costs. No maximum requested grant amount is stated in the topic information, but the project must present a balanced budget and a credible financing structure, including own resources, private investment or other co financing where relevant.

The call normally expects projects to last no more than 36 months. A budget of 7 percent indirect costs applies to eligible direct costs, and the call also allows eligible unit cost treatment for some personnel and travel items. Financial support to third parties is not allowed. The grant may not produce a profit, and any surplus will be recovered at final payment.

Funding overview

Assessment and award

Applications are scored on relevance, quality of content and activities, project management and dissemination, for a total of 100 points. The overall pass threshold is 70 points. Relevance carries 45 points, quality of content and activities 40 points, project management 10 points and dissemination 5 points. Proposals are ranked after eligibility and admissibility checks, and tie breaks prioritise relevance, then dissemination, then quality of content and activities.

The evaluation also places weight on the European dimension of the partnership or audience reach, the coherence and feasibility of the business model, the ability to attract private investment and use public funding below the maximum rate where possible, and the strength of the dissemination and transparency strategy.

Evaluation criteria

Application requirements and timeline

Submission is electronic only through the Funding and Tenders Portal. Part B is limited to 50 pages, and all required annexes must be uploaded in the correct format and category. The core application includes Part A administrative data, Part B technical description, Part C additional data, and mandatory annexes such as the declaration on independence and ownership.

The indicative timetable is opening on 30 September 2026, deadline on 14 January 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time, evaluation from January to May 2027, information to applicants in July 2027, and grant agreement signature in October 2027.

Applicant takeaways

This opportunity is best suited to organisations that already operate in the audiovisual value chain and can demonstrate a credible market problem, a clear innovation edge, a cross border business case and a realistic route to deployment or adoption. Strong applications will normally show market analysis, a practical implementation plan, measurable audience or market impact, a sound financing mix, and a convincing plan for transparency, sustainability, inclusion and knowledge sharing.

Because the call explicitly values private investment and asks whether the project can request less than the maximum 80 percent EU contribution, applicants should prepare a budget strategy that demonstrates leverage, realism and long term scalability. Projects that rely on hardware development, third party financial support or weak European added value are unlikely to fit the call well.