Newstalk is now accepting pitches from producers seeking broadcaster support for the latest round of Sound and Vision funding.

The details of the next funding round are available here with Relevant Guides and Application Forms to be published on the Coimisiún na Meán website on the opening date of the round, alongside further details on a webinar for prospective applicants.

We want to work with creative and innovative programme-makers, who can tell great stories, bring new perspectives, and amplify a wide range of voices through documentaries & drama.

While Newstalk will accept pitches in any area related to the above, we are particularly interested in pitches that focus on areas we believe are of interest to the Newstalk audience and capture contemporary Irish life.

• Music, Television, and the Arts
• Climate Change
• Business & Economics
• Sport
• Specific date or occasion-related programming (anniversaries, etc)
• Diversity
• Recent History / Nostalgia
• All of the above as Gaeilge

About our audience: Newstalk targets a core audience of 35–55-year-olds and has 871,000 listeners weekly. The audience is predominantly urban based, ABC1, with a significant amount of the audience in full-time employment, leading busy lives with the majority having families. The audience are big consumers of media and social media and very likely to listen online or through podcasts.

Please submit your pitch as a maximum two-page document – this must include:

• A clear synopsis and the structure of your programme idea
• Why you feel it is timely
• An outline of the production timeline post funding approval
• Any issues that could delay the proposal
• Topline estimate of costs and budget
• A sample script if a drama
• Details and experience of the production team and programme subjects & contributors

Note to Producers: Our documentaries and drama programme slots are 46 minutes in duration and broadcast in two parts. If your project does not or will not fit into these times or formats, we will consider on a case-by-case basis.

We also encourage you to attend the Coimisiún na Meán Applicant Webinar (date to be announced by them) if you have any queries you’d like to check with the Coimisiún na Meán team. If you are self-funded, we will also consider those applications on a case-by-case basis.

Timelines:

• Newstalk is now accepting pitches via email to documentaries@newstalk.com up to & including Thursday 23rd October.
• If successful, Newstalk will confirm approval in principle, with broadcaster support letters issued by latest Thursday 13th November.
• The closing date for applications to Coimisiún na Meán is 12 noon sharp on Thursday 27th November.

Main image: Music, relax and woman with headphones in the city listening to podcast, radio or track. Image: Yuri Arcurs. 13 April 2022