TV and online content Fiction projects

Creative Europe MEDIA CREA-MEDIA is a lump-sum grant call supporting independent European audiovisual producers to produce fiction drama works (one-off or series, minimum 90 minutes) for television and online exploitation. Eligible applicants are legal entities established in MEDIA-participating countries and projects must involve at least two broadcasters from different MEDIA countries, secure a minimum of 40% third-party financing and at least 50% of financing from MEDIA countries. The fiction topic has an indicative budget of €15.611 million and individual lump sums range from €70,000 to €2,000,000 depending on total production budget bands. Multiple cut-off deadlines are 10 February 2027 and 15 September 2027, applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal and documentation must demonstrate binding financing, distribution strategy, and measures for sustainability, inclusion and diversity.

What it funds

Scope and supported activities

Support for production of fiction works (one-off or series) intended for linear and non-linear broadcasting. Focus on high creative value, strong cross-border exploitation potential, transnational cooperation between producers/broadcasters/platforms/sales agents and innovative content or financing linked to distribution strategies. Projects must present sustainability, greening measures, and strategies for gender balance, inclusion and diversity.

Financials

The action uses lump sum grants. The call total budget is €23,300,000 for TV and online content (2027). The fiction topic budget is €15,611,000. Lump sum award per project depends on the total production budget (fixed tiers apply).

Typical maximum lump sums (pre-fixed amounts) depend on the project's total production budget; examples include €2,000,000 for budgets above €20M, €1,000,000 for 10–€20M, €500,000 for 3–€10M, down to €70,000 for budgets up to €500K. Exact tiering and calculator are published in the call documents. 1

Key admin points

Footnotes

1. 1Lump sum tiers, financing templates and detailed conditions (Production Financing Structure, calculator and independence declaration) are in the call annexes and guidance on the Portal (see Calculator and call document).

This is a Creative Europe MEDIA call for proposals to support production of fiction works (one-off drama films or TV/online series) intended for linear and non-linear broadcasting. The action aims to strengthen independent audiovisual producers, boost European and international co-productions, encourage innovative content and financing structures linked to clear distribution strategies, increase transnational circulation and audiences, and foster sustainability, gender balance, inclusion and representativeness.

Key facts and administrative data

Eligible applicants and participant types

Eligible applicants must be legal entities (public or private) established in a country participating fully in the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe and meet independence/ownership conditions. Natural persons are not eligible except self-employed persons where no separate legal personality exists. International organisations may participate. Organisations must be independent European audiovisual production companies (i.e. not majority-controlled by a broadcaster or audiovisual media service provider). Participants must register in the Participant Register (PIC) and be validated by the Central Validation Service.

Funding type, form and amounts

Maximum grant per project therefore ranges between €70,000 and €2,000,000 depending on the production budget band chosen by the applicant and verified against the Production Financing Structure and the Creative Europe MEDIA Database entries. Applicants must ensure coherent figures across all submission documents.

Consortium, partners and associated partners

Geographic eligibility and noted countries

Target sectors, project stage and eligible activities

Co-funding and financing requirements

The MEDIA grant is a lump sum fixed by production budget band. Important co-financing rules and conditions are specified in the call:

Selection process, evaluation and award criteria

Application process, templates and required annexes

Timing, milestones and typical project lifecycle

Form of grant, payments and financial management

Key eligibility, exclusion and compliance points

Application stages, review and award procedure

Templates and submission checklist

Templates available in the Submission System and Portal Reference Documents must be used and uploaded where requested. Mandatory templates and documents include the CREA MEDIA Application Form Part B (PDF), Lump Sum Calculator (Calculator_crea-media-ls-tvonline_en.xlsx), Production Financing Structure (financing-structure_crea-media-tvonline_en.xlsx), Declaration on independence and ownership control, Declaration on language of supporting documents, and the Creative Europe MEDIA Database PDF for the film/work.

Practical recommendations and mandatory technical notes

Ensure consistency across all documents (Production Financing Structure, MEDIA Database entries, lump sum calculation and supporting contracts). Letters of commitment must be binding and include the amount, nature of the rights and the licence period. For broadcasters, licence period maxima apply (7 years for pre-sale; 10 years for co-production) and rights must be reverted to the producer within those periods; otherwise the application may be ineligible. Prepare the declaration on ownership chain early because full ownership details to the level of nationals may be required for legal entity validation. Allow time for Participant Register validation (PIC) and for potential requests for additional documents during grant preparation.

Applicants should integrate environmental sustainability measures (e.g. use of greening consultants), gender balance and inclusion measures into both project production plans and company practices. The award criteria explicitly reward sustainable production strategies and inclusion/diversity practices.

Footnotes

1. 1Call document and full topic fiche are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This Creative Europe MEDIA call supports independent European audiovisual producers that want to develop and produce fiction works for television and online exploitation with strong cross border circulation potential, co production potential and audience reach across Europe and beyond. The fiction topic is one of three topics under the call, and it is financed through lump sum grants with multiple cut off deadlines.123

What the funding is about

The action is designed to strengthen the capacity and independence of audiovisual producers, encourage cooperation between broadcasters, digital platforms, sales agents and independent producers from different MEDIA Strand countries, and support high quality drama projects that can travel internationally. The call gives particular weight to innovative storytelling, innovative financing, clear links between financing and distribution strategy, environmental responsibility, gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness.2

Eligible fiction projects are drama films, either one off works or series, intended primarily for television or online exploitation, with a minimum total duration of 90 minutes. Works planned as a series must be submitted as a series, and individual episodes cannot be split into separate applications.2

Ineligible formats include live recordings, talk shows, cooking shows, reality formats, educational programmes, documentaries promoting tourism, making of, reports, news programmes, docu soaps, pornographic or racist material, promotional works, institutional productions, music videos, and productions originally intended as cinema works with theatrical release driven financing structures.2

Who can apply

Eligible applicants must be legal entities established in a country participating fully in the MEDIA Strand, and they must be independent European audiovisual production companies. Natural persons are not eligible, except self employed sole traders where the company has no separate legal personality.2

The company must be established in an eligible country and owned directly or indirectly, wholly or by majority participation, by nationals from countries participating fully in the MEDIA Strand. If the company is publicly listed and the nationality of the shareholders cannot be established, the location of the stock exchange in a fully participating MEDIA country determines eligibility.2

Single applicants are allowed, and consortium applications with at least two beneficiaries are also allowed. Associated partners may come from countries not participating in the MEDIA Strand, including non European countries such as Korea in the context described by the call, but they cannot be beneficiaries and their costs cannot be covered by the EU grant.2

Eligibility highlights

The work must involve at least two broadcasting companies established in two different MEDIA Strand countries. Broadcaster involvement must be backed by contracts or signed binding letters of commitment that state the financial contribution, the rights licensed and the licence period.2

The broadcaster or broadcasters may act as pre sale partners or co producers, but in all cases the rights licensed to them must revert to the producer after a maximum licence period of 7 years for pre sales or 10 years for co production. Letters showing only preliminary interest or conditional intent are not acceptable.2

A minimum of 40 percent of the total estimated production budget must be secured from third party sources such as broadcasters, distributors, funds or private and public investors. The producer’s own investment, co producer own investment and the requested MEDIA grant do not count toward this 40 percent third party financing threshold.2

At least 50 percent of the total estimated financing must come from countries participating in the MEDIA Strand. The project must also involve significant participation by professionals who are nationals or residents of MEDIA countries, measured through the role based points system described in the call document.2

The application must be submitted no later than the first day of principal photography. Projects should normally not exceed 36 months, and extensions are only possible if duly justified through an amendment.2

Budget and funding

The total estimated call budget is €23.3 million for 2027. The fiction topic has an indicative budget of €15.611 million. The call uses a multiple cut off procedure with deadlines on 10 February 2027 and 15 September 2027, both at 17:00 Brussels time.12

The grant is a lump sum grant. The requested grant per project must be between €70,000 and €2,000,000, but the fixed lump sum depends on the total production budget of the project. The official lump sum scale is based on the production budget bands in the call documents and calculator.23

Funding structure

Requested grant amount

Key conditions applicants should know

Applications must be submitted through the Funding and Tenders Portal using the forms and annexes provided in the submission system. Paper submissions are not accepted. Part B is limited to 70 pages, and incomplete proposals or proposals missing mandatory annexes will be rejected.2

Mandatory annexes include the lump sum calculator, the Creative Europe MEDIA database project information, a creative presentation of the project, the production financing structure, confirmed sources of financing and co production documents where relevant, letters of intent for distribution, the declaration on independence and European ownership, and the declaration on language of submitted materials.2

Applicants should provide a coherent financing package and strong distribution evidence. The financing structure template requires a full overview of confirmed financing sources, and the supporting letters must be binding and include the amount of contribution, the rights sold and the licence period. Pure expressions of interest are not sufficient.23

The project must show a sustainable and environmentally respectful production approach, including use of greening consultants where appropriate, and it must address gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness in content or project management.2

Evaluation and award

Proposals are assessed in one stage after admissibility and eligibility checks. The award criteria are relevance, quality of content and activities, project management and dissemination, with a total maximum score of 100 points and an overall pass threshold of 70 points. There are no individual pass thresholds for the separate criteria.2

Relevance carries 30 points, quality of content and activities 35 points, project management 5 points and dissemination 30 points. For fiction projects, the most important elements include the European dimension of financing, European co production, sustainability, gender and inclusion strategy, artistic quality, feasibility, audience reach, distributor involvement, distribution strategy and marketing strategy.2

Payment and implementation

After signature, beneficiaries normally receive prefinancing of about 70 percent of the maximum grant amount. There are no interim payments, and the balance is settled at the end of the project after verification of the final grant amount.2

The grant agreement will define the starting date, deliverables and reporting. Typical deliverables include an updated production financing structure, the signed main broadcaster contract, acceptance letter from the main broadcaster, link to the produced material, promotional material, the most recent royalty statement from the sales agent, an interoperable standard identifier and the declaration on independence and ownership.2

Practical takeaway

This is a substantial MEDIA funding opportunity for independent European fiction producers with internationally marketable drama projects, strong broadcaster and co production commitments, and a clear European distribution strategy. The most competitive applications will combine solid rights control, at least two broadcasters from two MEDIA countries, at least 40 percent secured third party financing, a credible multi territory release plan and evidence of sustainable and inclusive production practices.23

Official contact for non IT questions is EACEA-MEDIA-TV@ec.europa.eu, and the call documents advise applicants to review the topic page regularly for updates.2