MediaRoad – European Media Ecosystem for Innovation

Project Information

MediaRoad

Grant agreement ID: 761412

DOI

10.3030/761412

Project closed

EC signature date 7 May 2017

Start date 1 September 2017

End date 31 October 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 994 187,50

EU contribution

€ 994 187,50

Coordinated by

EBU-UER
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MediaRoad (MediaRoad – European Media Ecosystem for Innovation)

Reporting period: 2018-10-01 to 2019-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Media convergence and globalised competition are disrupting nearly every segment of the media industry: from content creation to delivery, programming, funding, organisation and audience reach. Policies, including the Digital Single Market Strategy, are generating new policy agendas that require detailed and coordinated attention from all actors.
At the same time, European media organisations have many advantages. They possess resources, knowledge and an audience reach that can be utilised to develop innovations. Their individual initiatives, if shared and scaled, can lead to significant breakthroughs with global impact.
The European audio-visual and radio sector must strengthen its approach to collaboration and innovation by creating fora for sharing technological advances, proactively developing joint policy positions and networking more effectively to exchange expertise. Media organisations should open up to new technology and start-ups to form new partnerships with the private sector and academic players.
The MediaRoad project reaped the benefits of media convergence and supported the development of creative and innovative media concepts to bridge the gap between R&D, content production, technological innovation and policy-making.
3 interconnected and cross-fertilising project hubs drove the project:
• The Sandbox Hub enabled media organisations to create a series of 18 interlinked media innovation accelerators (Sandboxes), where start-ups and SMEs can test and scale innovative concepts in operational environments. Connecting these accelerators across Europe enabled their exchange of know-how and created the necessary scale.
• The Policy Hub defined a long-term policy vision for the whole radio and AV sector through 2 Vision Documents that focused on media innovation and future and emerging technological trends. It provided a series of policy recommendations in relation to accelerating European media innovation, its place in the EU research agenda post-2020 and other media-related policy/regulatory issues.
• The Network Hub created a series of 20 events to bring together broadcasters, researchers, producers, content creators, technologists and entrepreneurs to inspire collaborations and share knowledge. The Hub addressed key issues for the media sector like media convergence, social media, policy & research and challenges in the digital era.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project kicked-off in October 2017 and the project’s internal communication and management procedures were established and executed. Throughout the project, the Coordinator compared the project’s implementation against its scope and objectives. In total, 41 deliverables were produced, and all of the 8 milestones were reached.
The consortium implemented the communication strategy and developed project website, social media channels, project materials, 99 videos, 103 news articles, 7 publications, 17 newsletters, 9 press releases, 10 podcast episodes as well as the Sandbox project presentations and materials. MediaRoad used the opportunity provided by 84 various external conferences and meetings to disseminate the project and feature in a majority of them as a speaker.
The Sandbox Hub set up a European network of media innovation accelerators. Sandboxes are hosted by media organisations and collaborate with media-related start-ups involving technology, journalism, social media and content. The Sandbox Hub is a big success with 18 organisations joining so far. It supports new entities by sharing innovation management guidelines and a toolkit during dedicated training sessions. The Hub facilitated over 20 international pitching events and provided matchmaking between media companies and media start-ups.
The Policy Hub nurtured the creation of a sustainable ecosystem for the development of a long-term policy vision for the whole European media sector. This was achieved through a series of stakeholder consultations, reports and research updates. The Policy Hub has published 8 policy-oriented newsletters and 2 Vision Documents: “The Future of Media Innovation – European Research Agenda beyond 2020” and “Future and emerging technological trends for the media sector”.
MediaRoad successfully developed and still maintains a network of over 50 official stakeholders, including broadcasters, production companies, R&D institutes, key creative sector players, new media, technology-developing SMEs, journalists and academics. This network, as well as the organization of 10 thematic conferences and a podcast series, are the highlights of this hub. Beyond the project, MediaRoad will uphold the network and will further support connecting, educating and enabling this community.
The MediaRoad’s compliance with ethical requirements was demonstrated, such as the inclusion of the GDPR provisions and ethics clearance, privacy policy, policy for the use of image, and opinions of those taking part in project activities.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

There is an unprecedented need for a paradigm shift in media R&D, and MediaRoad created an active and engaged forum for exchange on topics related to digital transformation. It reached out to the full spectrum of the media sector: broadcasters, production companies, R&D institutes, key creative sector players, journalists, social media, technology-developing SMEs, policy experts and academics. MediaRoad set a strong foundation to establish a sustainable network of media innovation and to create a community of European media organisations which otherwise would not have met.
MediaRoad has created a forum for media exchange on topics related to the key challenges for the European media such as fake news, hybrid radio, robot journalism, online platforms, artificial intelligence, 5G, multimedia content production and overarching media innovation trends and future technologies. The results of the exchanges between the media stakeholders are the foundation for the development of joint positions which will help develop evidence-based policy making at the European level.
At a time when the EU develops its next MFF and starts setting priorities for the next 5 years, MediaRoad shares with policy makers the position of the media stakeholders. The Vision Documents aim to create a framework for a strong and flourishing European media sector. Implementing such a roadmap will have a lasting impact.
Beyond policy and networking, MediaRoad offered practical ways to help media companies stay competitive in the global media landscape by enhancing their innovation capacity and creating new market opportunities. The organisations involved have fostered both internal and external innovation activities, promoting a new way of collaborating between broadcasters, producers, start-ups, entrepreneurs and technology innovators. This type of collaboration is in high demand. In the course of the project, 18 organisations joined the Sandbox Hub, while only 4 were initially planned. The work on enhancing the innovation capacity will continue further and beyond the lifetime of the project. Existing members of the Sandbox Hub are involved in collaborative projects which can be adopted and up-scaled by media organisations or external stakeholders. This was made possible through dedicated events, such as pitching sessions to create direct networking and possibilities for new business and market opportunities.

MediaRoad Consortium at the Kick-off meeting

MediaRoad final conference, demonstartion of media innovation projects

Sandbox Prize ceremony, winners and MediaRoad team IBC 2019

MediaRoad Sandbox Hub meeting

Project logo

Workshop organised by AER at Radiodays Europe 2019

MediaRoad final conference, panel discussion