RTÉ is now seeking proposals for Coimisiún na Meán Sound & Vision – Round 60 – Shared Island Shared Stories, to support the production of culturally valuable broadcast content, including content in the Irish language.

Closing date for submissions to be considered for RTÉ support in Coimisiún na Meán Sound & Vision – Round 60 is Friday 15 May 2026 at 12.00 noon (strict deadline).

All submissions must include the full production budget, proposed RTÉ funding and other third party funding in RTÉ’s eCommissioning system.

Please note only proposals submitted through RTÉ’s eCommissioning system will be considered.

We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system: Login | RTE under the programme category “Programme Genre - CnaM Round 60 Share Island”, before the above closing date and time.

CnaM Sound & Vision Rd 60 – dates for RTÉ supported programmes

RTÉ call-out opens:                                       Friday 10 April 2026

RTÉ call-out closes:                                      Friday 15 May 2026, 12 noon (strict deadline)

RTÉ decision on successful applicants:       Friday 05 June 2026

CnaM Rd 60 closes:                                     Thursday 02 July 2026, 12 noon

The RTÉ timelines are designed to give supported applicants ample time to prepare and submit detailed applications to Coimisiún na Meán. For more information, please visit www.cnam.ie.

The new ‘Shared Island Shared Stories’ funding round will fund programming that supports a shared future, promotes cultural exchange and celebrates the diverse heritage of the island. For more information please use the following link Shared Home Place.

Please ensure you are fully registered on the eCommissioning System well before the closing date, as registrations can take up to 48 hours to process. Late submissions due to late registration will not be accepted.

Programme:                    Music and Live Events

Duration:                          50 minutes or 90 minutes

Episodes:                         single episode

Budget Range:                €90,000 - €150,000 for single programme

Budget will also be subject to programme proposal and third party funding if applicable

(In exceptional circumstances if a higher cost per hour is necessary, producers must provide additional information and details explaining the reasons for the increased cost.)

Deadline:                         Commissioning on a rolling basis

RTÉ Arts & Culture is already committed to a number of cross-platform events and is now seeking to increase its footprint in this area.

As well as Culture Night and the An Post Irish Book Awards, we’re looking for other live Arts and Culture live events that might play in 2026. These events can be carried on RTÉ One, RTÉ 2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ.ie.

What do we want?

Scale, ambition, location and talent should all be considered by producers and production companies in the drawing of all proposals.

Proposals for innovative partnerships with The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will be particularly welcome, as will proposals stating editorial associations with RTÉ’s audio platforms.

Proposals with third-party funding attached will be especially attractive and producers should also consider returnability when entering fresh ideas.

How to Submit

Producers are asked to submit their ideas through the video section of RTÉ’s eCommissioning system: Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) under the programme category Arts & Culture, Music and Live Events 2026.

This call out will be operated on a rolling basis.

Published 04th March 2026

Programme:                    Arts & Culture Documentary

Duration:                          25 minutes or 50 minutes

Episodes:                         single episode or multi-part series

Budget Range:                €90,000 - €140,000 cost per hour for single documentary

€90,000 - €135,000 cost per hour for multi-part series

(In exceptional circumstances if a higher cost per hour is necessary, producers must provide additional information and details explaining the reasons for the increased cost.)

Deadline:                         Commissioning On A Rolling Basis

The slate is open to fresh ideas and original thinking in the field of one-off and multi-part documentary series. How can Arts and Culture resonate in what is already a wide and varied schedule, both on linear and on-line?

We’re open to discussing popular new formats – The Records Show [Midas Productions], Ireland’s Hidden Treasures and the upcoming The Museum of Me [both from Bo Media] are good current examples – and will continue to support documentary that captures Ireland’s unique relationship with popular culture.

Fresh treatments are fundamental: A Note for Nature [Crossing the Line Productions], which explored, through music, the beauty and fragility of the Irish landscape and habitat, is an example of lateral thinking in this regard.

The recent RTÉ One film, Meat Loaf: From Hell and to Connaught [Scratch Films] is another fusing, as it did, elements of social and cultural history in the telling of a uniquely Irish yarn.

Upcoming documentary films about the music of U2, the Lisdoonvarna music festival and the Kerry-born music promoter, Bill Fuller, are other reference points.

What do we want?

The Arts and Culture slate isn’t seeking profiles, career retrospectives or nostalgia and will give preference to proposals rooted in the present or that look to the future. Producers should be mindful of the wave of creative Irish talent currently helping to shape international popular culture.

The slate is happy to engage with all producers and production companies in the development of all new ideas and base funding is available during the early stages of production.

Arts and Culture slots for linear can be both hour and half-hour long and we’re particularly interested in original ideas that can attract Sound and Vision funding or third-party supports more generally. The slate is also open to collaborations in this area with Screen Ireland.

How to Submit

Producers are asked to submit their ideas through the video section of RTÉ’s eCommissioning system: Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) under the programme category Arts & Culture, Documentary 2026.

This call out will be operated on a rolling basis.

Published 04th March 2026

History of the Fund

In November 2016, RTÉ and ARTE G.E.I.E., the Strasbourg branch of the Franco-German public broadcaster ARTE, joined forces to develop and co-fund exceptional documentary projects, aiming to bring more Irish content to European audiences. Since then, ARTE G.E.I.E. and RTÉ have invested in a diverse range of Irish documentaries covering factual topics, current affairs, history, and the arts. The collaboration between ARTE commissioning editors and Irish production companies has flourished, creating numerous opportunities for Irish creative talent

Practical Information

The fund operates on a rolling basis, with projects being developed and funded continuously. We seek standout single documentaries that have secured development or broadcast commitments from an RTÉ Commissioning Editor, which can then be pitched to ARTE’s specific documentary strands. Most documentaries for ARTE are 52 minutes long and do not include commercial breaks. The RTÉ version of the programme should be a 50 minute duration with two commercial breaks as agreed with the RTÉ Commissioning Editor.

RTÉ and ARTE welcome ideas from all genres, including Factual, Specialist Factual, Science and Natural Science, History, Archaeology and Human Endeavour, Current Affairs/Geopolitics, and Arts, Culture, and Music. We are particularly interested in compelling Irish stories with international appeal, whether they focus on ancient or contemporary history, arts, or society/current affairs. Ambitious factual, specialist factual, and arts documentaries that resonate with both Irish and European audiences are highly valued.

Given that ARTE documentaries are broadcast in multiple territories, projects led by voiceovers that can be revoiced in several languages are preferred. Presenter-led documentaries or series are generally not suitable for ARTE, except in rare cases where the presenter is a global icon, such as Angelica Huston on Joyce by Blueprint Films.

Completed projects must be delivered to ARTE 6-8 weeks before the broadcast date to allow time for translation, subtitling, and revoicing in French and German, as well as Polish, Spanish, and Italian for on-demand services. The costs for revoicing and subtitling are covered by ARTE and should not be included in the programme production budgets.

How To Apply

Production companies interested in submitting a programme proposal for the fund should initially submit their proposal through RTÉ’s e-Commissioning system Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) Arts & Culture - ARTE. Indicate that the idea is suitable for co-production with ARTE and provide information on any other third-party funders if applicable. If the proposal is approved for further consideration, Sarah Ryder, RTÉ’s ARTE lead, will present it to the relevant ARTE commissioning executives.

Further information

For more details on the RTÉ / ARTE G.E.I.E. co-production fund, please contact Sarah Ryder at sarah.ryder@rte.ie.