Over €300 million awarded to almost 5,000 projects
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: 659 drama projects, 94 animation projects, just over 3,200 documentaries, 268 educational projects and 445 entertainment 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.
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 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.
The Scheme encourages, through its independent assessment process, productions with women in a lead creative role. In 2024, for TV or film projects funded under the Scheme, 80% of producers, 52% of writers, 48% of directors, 30% of directors of photography, and 60% of editors were women. Sound & Vision support has also been instrumental in the creation of programming that features marginalised voices in Irish society and productions like Sanctuary which is set in the world of people with intellectual disabilities, In Our Own Words which focuses on the story of Irish women’s struggle for equality, Dating Amber a film about coming out in Ireland in the 1990s, and Pablo an animation series about a 5 year old boy with autisim were all funded through the Scheme. Through its innovative Cine4 partnership with TG4 and Fís Éireann, which seeks to fund original feature film productions in the Irish language, Sound & Vision has funded several high-quality Irish language feature dramas, such as Arracht, Báite, and Fréamhacha/Fréwaka.
Among other Sound & Vision highlights has been the multi-award-winning Kneecap, which has thrilled audiences in Ireland and around the world. The Scheme has also funded radio programming in every county across Ireland, with examples including End of the Line for Radio Kerry, The Rising Sisters for Community Radio Youghal, The Cot Fisher Kings for KCLR FM, Left Behind for Shannonside 104FM, Voices from the River City for Limerick Live 95FM and Spin South West’s Ciarraí Amach. There have also been several award-winning Sound & Vision radio projects such as Newstalk’s The Kinder Letters and Citizen Lockout 1913, Radio Kerry’s William Melville and the Barber’s Spies and Ocean FM’s Francisco’ which scooped the prestigious Prix Europa. The Scheme also supports Transition Year (TY) Media Week in collaboration with Learning Waves, mentoring students on how to research, produce and report for radio.
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.