Creative Europe MEDIA Programme

What is Creative Europe MEDIA Programme?

Creative Europe is the EU programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors. With a budget of €2.44 billion for 2021-2027, the programme is investing in actions that reinforce cultural diversity and respond to the needs and challenges of the cultural and creative sectors. It contributes to the recovery of these sectors after the COVID crisis, reinforcing their efforts to become more digital, greener, more resilient and more inclusive.

The programme is split in three different strands: MEDIA, CULTURE and CROSS-SECTORAL.

In 2026, the MEDIA strand marks its 35th anniversary of support to European audiovisual content. MEDIA has consistently aimed to serve the double objective of promoting, cultural diversity and strengthening the competitiveness of the audiovisual industry. The programme continues to adapt to technological developments and changing consumption habits, covering film, television, video games and immersive content.

The success of the MEDIA programme paves the way to the proposed AgoraEU programme for 2028-2034, which strengthens the support to the audiovisual industry as well as the news media sector through its MEDIA+ strand.

The MEDIA strand focuses on:

• encouraging cooperation both across the value chain and at EU level in order to scale up audio-visual enterprises and European content globally;
• nurturing talents, wherever they come from, and broadening participation and collaboration across countries;
• enhancing global circulation, promotion and distribution of European audiovisual works, taking into account the new digital environment;
• supporting the engagement and development of audiences of all ages, in particular young audiences, across Europe and beyond.

Since 2021, to ensure more flexibility in the actions supported and to encourage cooperation among the different parts of the audiovisual value-chain, the priorities are structured around 4 clusters:

1. Content: encouraging collaboration and innovation in the creation and production of high-quality works.
2. Business: promoting business innovation, competitiveness, scalability and talents to strengthen Europe’s industry vis-à-vis global competitors.
3. Audience: strengthening the accessibility and visibility of works for their potential audiences, through distribution channels and audience development initiatives.
4. Policy: supporting policy discussion/exchange fora, studies and reports. Promoting awareness-raising activities.

Creative Europe MEDIA open calls