Coimisiún na Meán is celebrating 20 years of the broadcasting funding scheme, Sound & Vision. The Scheme, which was first launched in 2005, has played a crucial role in shaping the Irish media landscape by supporting the creation of diverse, culturally relevant, and innovative content for Irish TV and radio audiences.
Over the last two decades, nearly 5,000 projects have been offered funding of just over €300 million to make programming in Ireland, for Irish audiences. These include: 94 animation projects, just over 3,200 documentaries, 268 educational projects, 445 entertainment projects, and 659 drama projects, as well as targeted funding rounds to support the commercial and community media sectors. Sound & Vision remains a vital source of funding for producing Irish language content with over 800 hundred of the projects funded classified as Irish/bilingual. Animation projects supported by the scheme include; Puffin Rock, Doodle Girl, Lí Ban, Adam Loves Adventure.
Reflecting on 20 years of Sound & Vision, Coimisiún na Meán Media Development Commissioner, Rónán Ó Domhnaill said: ‘We are delighted to celebrate two decades of this extraordinary Scheme, which has helped put tens of thousands of hours of Irish culture on-air. There is a good chance that in the past week, you have either watched or listened to a programme that was funded by Sound & Vision. From film classics like Hunger, Garage, An Cailín Ciúin, and Brooklyn, engaging radio like Building a Ballet and Irish Music Month, landmark documentaries like Birdsong, Katie and the Forgotten Irish and captivating TV like Aifric, Crá, The Dry and Shooting the Darkness, Sound & Vision has gone from strength to strength over the last 20 years.
From Hollywood in County Wicklow, to Hollywood in California, we are proud that six Sound & Vision productions have been Oscar nominated – Brooklyn, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers, The Breadwinner and An Cailín Ciúin. The Scheme is unique in Ireland, funding productions which may not otherwise get made, in both the Irish and English languages, for broadcast free-to-air on Irish TV and radio.
Next year, we [An Coimisúin] look forward to developing the next iteration of the Scheme to reflect its expanded role as part of the broader Media Fund and will continue to support high-quality programming that speaks to Irish culture, language and heritage, thrilling audiences across Ireland for decades to come.’’
Sound & Vision has become a pillar of media production in Ireland, and the Scheme is currently over-subscribed. Since the beginning of Sound & Vision in 2005, the Scheme has assessed over 9,300 applications seeking funding of approximately €656 million. Last year, over 90% of the funding provided by Sound & Vision went to the independent production sector in Ireland.
Sound & Vision is funded by 7% of the net receipts of the TV Licence Fee, through the Broadcasting Fund. The next iteration of the Scheme will be funded through the new Media Fund with the continued support of the TV Licence Fee, with Coimisiún na Meán currently engaged with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport to secure multi-year funding for the Media Fund in the future.