TV and online content Animation projects

Grant format and typical amounts:Lump-sum grants. Project awards range from €70,000 up to €2,000,000 depending on the total production budget (fixed lump-sum tiers apply).

Eligible activities:production (pre-production, production, post-production and delivery) of animation works intended primarily for TV and online exploitation. Projects must present high artistic quality, cross-border distribution strategy, broadcaster/platform involvement with licence terms compatible with rules in the call, and sustainability, greening and inclusion measures.

Where to apply and more information:Apply and find full call documents, templates and guidance on the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page Call page 1.

Opening and deadlines:Opening date: 30 September 2026. Two cut-off deadlines (multiple cut-off model): 10 February 2027, 17:00 Brussels time and 15 September 2027, 17:00 Brussels time. Evaluation windows and indicative grant signature windows are published in the call document 1.

Eligible applicant types:Legal entities (public or private bodies) established in countries participating fully in the MEDIA strand. The call targets independent European audiovisual production companies (producers). Other eligible applicant types: production companies, co-producers, broadcasters and distributors as beneficiaries if they meet MEDIA strand eligibility and independence rules. Natural persons are not eligible, except self-employed/sole traders where the entity has no separate legal personality. International organisations are eligible. Associated partners from non-MEDIA countries may be involved but cannot be beneficiaries.

Eligible countries / Geographic scope:Beneficiaries must be established in one of the countries participating fully in the MEDIA strand (EU Member States plus participating non-EU countries listed in the Programme participating countries). Projects can include associated partners from non-MEDIA countries (these cannot be beneficiaries). Korea is explicitly mentioned as an example of a non-MEDIA partner allowed for international cooperation under the audiovisual entitlement to the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation between the EU and Korea.

Consortium requirement:Single applicant submissions are allowed. Consortium submissions are also allowed and frequent. If a consortium is used, it may include beneficiaries and affiliated entities. Projects must involve the participation of professionals and operators from at least two countries participating in the MEDIA strand; the work must involve at least two broadcasting companies established in two MEDIA countries (letters/contracts required).

Eligible activities and project scope:This topic supports production activities of animation works (one-off or series) intended primarily for TV or online exploitation. Minimum total duration: 24 minutes. Projects must show strong cross-border cooperation between operators from different MEDIA countries (including broadcasters), high creative/artistic value, clear cross-border exploitation strategy and innovative aspects in content or financing. Applications must present sustainability/greening plans, gender balance, inclusion and diversity strategies, and environmental impact reduction measures (use of greening consultants encouraged).

Funding type and form:Grant. The grant is delivered as a fixed lump sum payment. The lump sum amount is pre-defined by total production budget bands. The grant is not based on reimbursement of actual detailed costs during implementation but on the declared production budget band and meeting the deliverables and conditions in Annex 1 and the Grant Agreement.

Overall call budget and topic allocation:Total indicative call budget 2027: €23,300,000 (subject to final adoption of the 2027 EU budget). Budget split: 40% for 1st cut-off, 60% for 2nd cut-off. Minimum budget reservations: at least 25% reserved for animation projects (topic 1) and 8% for documentaries (topic 2). Topic 1 indicative topic budget for animation projects: €5,825,000.

Grant amounts (lump sums) and total production budget bands:The maximum EU grant is a fixed lump sum that depends on the total production budget declared for the project. Applicants must ensure the production budget declared in the Creative Europe MEDIA Database and the Production Financing Structure is coherent with the chosen band in the lump sum calculator. The lump sum bands and amounts are fixed and non-proportional (see table).

Range of project funding / examples:Project EU grant amounts therefore range from €70,000 up to €2,000,000 depending on the declared total production budget band. Total project budgets vary widely but must be coherent across the MEDIA Database, Production Financing Structure and supporting contracts.

Funding modality, payments and reporting:Form of grant: lump sum grants (prefixed lump sums). Reporting uses the Portal Continuous Reporting tool and the periodic report deliverables set in Annex 1 and the Data Sheet. A standard prefinancing mechanism applies in lump sum grants procedures: prefinancing is normally paid after grant signature (amounts and schedule governed by the Grant Agreement and Data Sheet). There are no interim payments; final payment (if applicable) is based on verification of deliverables and compliance.

Minimum confirmed finance and co-funding requirements:Minimum 40% of the total production budget must be guaranteed by third-party confirmed sources (broadcasters, distributors, public funds, tax incentives, private investment). Producer own investment and the MEDIA grant do NOT count towards the 40% third-party financing threshold. A minimum of 50% of the total estimated financing must come from countries participating in the MEDIA strand. All third-party financing must be supported by binding contracts or signed binding letters of commitment specifying amounts, rights sold and licence periods (LOIs without mandatory elements are not acceptable).

Broadcasting and exploitation rights requirements:The work must involve the participation of at least two broadcasters established in different MEDIA countries. Broadcasters’ involvement must be proven by contracts or binding letters specifying licence price and licence period. Maximum exploitation licence periods revert to the producer after: 7 years for pre-sales; 10 years for co-productions, unless the co-production agreement specifies otherwise and the broadcaster made a financial investment larger than other partners. If a broadcaster’s licence exceeds these maximum periods the application is ineligible.

Nationality and significant participation rules:The work must be produced with significant participation of professionals who are nationals and/or residents of MEDIA countries. Significant participation is assessed against a points table awarding points to creative and production roles and locations; more than 50% of the points must come from MEDIA-country professionals/locations.

Submission, evaluation model and timelines:Submission method: electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal. Evaluation is one-stage (single submission) and one-step evaluation by an evaluation committee assisted by independent experts. The process includes admissibility and eligibility checks, operational capacity verification, and scoring against award criteria. Evaluation windows and indicative dates for information to applicants and grant signature are published in the call document. The call uses a multiple cut-off model: proposals submitted by each cut-off date are evaluated in the respective evaluation period.

Scoring and thresholds:Maximum total score: 100 points. Overall pass threshold: 70 points. No individual threshold per criterion is set. Proposals passing the threshold are ranked and selected within the available budget. Tie-breaking approach: priority by score on Relevance, then Dissemination, then Quality of content and activities.

Application assessment stages and result communications:Main stages: 1) Admissibility and eligibility checks; 2) Evaluation against award criteria and scoring; 3) Ranking and reserve list; 4) Invitation to grant preparation for successful proposals; 5) Grant preparation including legal entity validation, financial capacity checks and any required clarifications or amendments. Invitation to grant preparation is not a formal commitment to fund; final award requires completion of checks and signature of the Grant Agreement.

Operational and financial capacity checks:Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient resources and operational capacity. Financial capacity checks are performed normally for coordinators (exceptions apply for public bodies and small grants). Documents for checks include recent accounts, balance sheets, profit & loss, audit reports if available. If capacity is insufficient, the granting authority may require additional measures such as guarantees, joint and several liability, instalment prefinancing, or replacement of the coordinator.

Independence and ownership control:Applicants must provide full ownership structure of companies involved to confirm independence and majority ownership by MEDIA-country nationals where required. Information on independence and ownership control is mandatory and templates are provided in the Submission System.

Ineligible projects and content:The call excludes live recordings, TV games, talk shows, reality shows, magazines, cooking shows, news, tourism-promotion documentaries, 'making-of' materials, music videos, works of a promotional nature for organisations, pornographic or racist content, works already financed by Eurimages or productions originally intended as theatrical cinema works with multiple theatrical distributors or an international sales agent involved (these are ineligible for this topic).

Exclusion and integrity rules:Standard EU exclusion and integrity rules apply: entities subject to EU restrictive measures or to EU conditionality measures (e.g. measures adopted under Regulation 2020/2092) are ineligible, as are entities subject to bankruptcy, fraud, corruption, serious professional misconduct or exclusion decisions under the EU Financial Regulation. Applicants must sign a declaration of honour and later a declaration of honour on grant signature.

Application type and submission method:This is an open call with multiple cut-off deadlines. Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System. Applicants must select the correct action type (CREA-LS) and model grant agreement (CREA-AG-LS) at the start of submission. The submission is a two-step process: register organisation(s) in the Participant Register and then complete and submit the application in the Submission System. Use the Portal Online Manual and IT Helpdesk for technical support; for call content queries use the topic Q&A or EACEA contact provided in the topic page.

Project maturity and expected stage:This topic funds production-ready projects. The application must be submitted at the latest on the first day of principal photography (or start of animation for animation projects). For series, submit the full series (not single episodes). Projects should be in development/ready-for-production and include confirmed financing elements. Expected project stages: advanced development to production and post-production.

Target sectors and technologies:Target sector is audiovisual production: animation (topic 1), documentary and fiction (other topics in the call). The call considers linear and non-linear distribution, including digital platforms and VOD. Cross-cutting priorities include AI and digital agenda aspects as relevant to distribution and promotion strategies.

Mentioned countries:Explicitly mentioned: Korea (as associated partner example). More broadly the call references EU Member States and non-EU countries participating in the Creative Europe MEDIA strand (EEA and associated countries as defined in the participating countries list).

Project duration:Projects should not normally exceed 36 months. Starting date is fixed in the Grant Agreement; normally the start date will be after grant signature but retroactive starts are possible only with justification and never earlier than the proposal submission date.

Application stages and success rates:Application stages: 1) submission and admissibility check; 2) eligibility check; 3) evaluation and scoring by experts; 4) ranking and invitation to grant preparation for successful proposals; 5) grant agreement preparation including validation and financial checks. Success rates: not published for this call; success rates vary by topic, number of proposals and budget availability. There is an indicative number of grants per topic in internal budget tables but no fixed public success rate.

Co-funding requirement and financial structure:Co-funding: yes. A minimum of 40% of total production budget must be guaranteed by third-party sources (excluding producer equity and MEDIA grant). At least 50% of total financing should come from MEDIA strand countries. The Production Financing Structure template must show all confirmed financing sources in the order listed and include scanned contracts and binding letters of commitment with mandatory elements. Tax incentives are accepted as third-party financing only if confirmed by competent authorities' supporting documents.

How to prepare a compliant Production Financing Structure:Only fill the white cells in the provided template. Include all confirmed financing sources (broadcasters, presales, distributors, public funds, tax credits, private investments) and supporting documents (contracts or binding letters with amounts, rights and licence periods). Preliminary letters or conditional LOIs without the mandatory elements will not be accepted. If co-producers are involved, include co-production contracts or deal-memos. Ensure amounts in the Production Financing Structure match the total production budget band selected in the Lump Sum Calculator and the MEDIA Database entry.

What is this opportunity about and how to explain it In plain terms:This Creative Europe MEDIA call finances European animation TV and online productions through fixed lump sum grants. It is shaped to support independent producers and co-productions that show strong creative quality, cross-border appeal, robust and confirmed third-party financing, and concrete distribution strategies to reach European and international audiences (including digital platforms). Applications must be submitted online and include a complete production financing plan with binding financing evidence. Grants are awarded as preset lump sums tied to total production budget bands; applicants must therefore ensure the declared production budget band is coherent across submission documents. The call puts emphasis on independence of producers, transnational cooperation (including broadcasters), sustainability/greening practices, gender balance and inclusion, and innovative content and financing solutions. The submission process follows the Portal procedures with a multiple cut-off model and thorough checks during grant preparation (legal validation, financial capacity). Successful applicants enter grant preparation and will sign the CREA Lump Sum Grant Agreement before prefinancing and implementation. Read the call document and all templates carefully and upload all required annexes in the correct slots in the Submission System. For practical help consult the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and the Portal IT Helpdesk; for call content questions use the topic Q&A or the EACEA contact address listed on the topic page.

Key practical next steps for applicants:register your organisation in the Participant Register early; prepare full Production Financing Structure and supporting contracts; prepare creative dossier and MEDIA Database records; check eligibility and independence requirements; use the Lump Sum Calculator and ensure consistency across documents; submit through the Portal well before the cut-off deadline to avoid last-minute technical problems. Successful proposals will be invited to grant preparation, where legal and financial validations take place.