The results of the MEDIA scheme supporting video on demand services and digital cinema distribution were recently published and 16 successful applicants will share €6.5 million of MEDIA investment. 14 of the projects have previously been supported by MEDIA and two are new.

The majority of projects are VoD services: The Auteurs Europe received the highest award of €1.1 million, followed by French Universciné, awarded €1 million. Comunidad Filmin is a Spanish VoD streaming portal which pools the rights of several established production and distribution companies: Alta Films, El Deseo, Tornasol and Wanda Vision. In France, the established theatrical distributor/exhibitor MK2 is behind MK2VoD.com; while FilmoTV.fr experiments with a subscription VoD service (SVoD).

One of the new projects is Brightwide, from a UK applicant ADM Media in partnership with Italy's Fandango. MEDIA support of €200,000 is going towards helping it become Europe's leading platform for social and political cinema.  

There are two specialist services for documentary film: Joiningthedocs from a UK operator Mercury Media, and the Doc Alliance portal which is a partnership of five European festivals including Vision du Reel, Dok Leipzig and IFF Jihlava.

Short-film lovers can use a mobile portal Shortz! by Spanish Kiwi Media or Daazo from the European Short Film Centre in Hungary.

Two services offer cinema classics: Reelport's Europe's Finest is the largest collection of film classics for D-cinema in Europe as well as a Cinema on Demand service. Europa Film Treasures is an on-demand service offering content from several European cinematheques including the UK's British Film Institute.

European Digital Cinema Library (EDCL) aims to improve access to European films in digital format with the sharing of technical and economical means across territories taking advantage of economies of scale. It has been awarded €500,000 to digitise content and offer it to multiple distributors with a flexible and easy distribution platform. The online library of films in multiple language versions will be accessible at all times for distributors who acquire the rights.