TV Programming

The production and distribution of European television programmes with the potential to circulate within the European Union and beyond. 

The following overview is intended for guidance only. Full guidelines can be found on the website of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), which manages Creative Europe.

Take a look at the Europe-wide results from the most recent deadline.

Applicant companies must:

• Be established in one of the countries participating in the MEDIA sub-programme and be majority owned by nationals from those countries
• Be independent – no more than 25% of the share capital can be held by a single broadcaster (50% when several broadcasters are involved)
• Have audiovisual production as their main business activity
• Own the majority of the rights to the project.

Programmes must be intended primarily for the purposes of television exploitation and comply with the following minimum durations:

• Drama (one-off or series) - minimum 90 minutes
• Animation (one-off or series) - minimum 24 minutes
• Creative documentaries (one-off or series) - minimum 50 minutes

For drama series only, sequels, second, third and further seasons are eligible.

The programme must be majority produced by companies established in countries participating in the MEDIA sub-programme and with a significant number of cast and crew who are nationals and/or residents of those countries (see page 7 of the guidelines for an explanation of how this is calculated).

The exploitation rights licensed to the broadcaster have to revert to the producer after a maximum period of 7 years for a pre-sale or 10 years for a co-production.

The total budget is estimated at €12.5 million across the two deadlines.

The non-repayable grants available depend on the type of production:

• Fiction or animation projects can apply for up to 12.5% of the production budget (capped at €500,000)
• Creative documentaries can apply for up to 20% (capped at €300,000).

Grants of €1 million (or 10% of eligible costs, whichever is lower) are available to projects that meet the following criteria:

• The first or second series of a TV drama series with a minimum duration of 6 x 45 minutes
• Co-produced between at least two production companies from different countries participating in the MEDIA sub-programme
• With a minimum eligible production budget of €10 million.

Applicants should have at least 50% of the estimated total financing of the production budget guaranteed from third party sources of finance (either through direct financing or by advance rights sales) at the time of submission.

50% of the total financing must come from European sources. 

A minimum of three broadcasting companies from three countries participating in the MEDIA sub-programme must be committed (although stronger applications will have more than this).

Applications can be submitted on the first day of principal photography at the latest.

The following documents must be attached to the e-Form:

• Annex 1 - Detailed project description (treatment, director's note, graphic and artistic material) in Word or PDF format
• Annex 2 - Declaration on applicant's honour
• Annex 3 - Estimated Production Budget and Financing Plan (using the September 2017 exchange rate)
• Annex 4 – Track record of the company
• Annex 5 - CV of the director and main producer
• Annex 6 - Link to trailer (if available)
• Annex 7 - Proof of financing (
  letters of commitment, agreements, other financial commitments from third parties) in PDF format.

Together all attachments must not exceed 10MB.

Applications from across Europe are assessed centrally by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) with assistance from industry experts working in a relevant field according to the following award criteria:

• European dimension of the financing of the project (20 points)
• Quality of the project and quality of the marketing and distribution strategies (45 points)
• Broadcaster involvement and the potential for European circulation (30 points)
• Distribution of the roles and responsibilities of the production and creative team (5 points)

Projects specifically targeted at young audiences are also eligible for 5 additional automatic points.

Projects from applicants established in low production capacity countries are also eligible for 5 additional automatic points.

The Guide for Experts offers a breakdown of how these points are awarded.