New Media Funding with a strong overall result 2024

• €9.5 million in new media funding in 2024
• €2.3 million dedicated to serial formats
• Economic impact: €18 million spent in the region
• Brandenburg “on a roll”: Spreewaldklinik, Wingspan, Interconnection
• Funding with a focus on technology innovation & emerging talent

New Media Funding 2024: Shaping the Future, Strengthening the Economy – with Outstanding Results!
€9.5 million in funding for 93 projects across serial formats, games, XR, AI, and events generate €18 million in investments in the capital region.

Berlin-Brandenburg is not just the Home for Games (Games Performance Report, December 2024) but also a hotspot for innovative series production with groundbreaking narratives and formats! Serial formats receive €2.3 million, and series-related events are supported with approximately €1 million.

MBB-funded series set new standards in content and technology, standing for diversity, fresh perspectives, and breaking format and genre conventions.

“Following the consolidation of the market, there is a growing demand for refinancable content among broadcasters and streaming platforms. This also opens up diverse opportunities for innovative storytelling and emerging talent. Here in Berlin-Brandenburg, we see a wide variety of formats and genres, which is why we support the new generation of content creators. Media is converging—whether it’s gaming subscription models on streaming platforms or the marketing of IPs across different formats like games, XR experiences, and series. Exciting developments for the future of new media funding!”

New media-funded series captivate audiences and win over award and festival juries with resounding success. Angemessen Angry and Die Spaltung der Welt have just been nominated for the 2025 Grimme Award. Angemessen Angry was celebrated at the Filmfest München and won the Televisionale Series Award, while Haus Kummerveldt received the Grimme Award last year. The documentary series German Cocaine Cowboy has become a long-running success on Prime Video, remaining in Germany’s top ten series charts for weeks.

The sports documentary series The Wagner Brothers, featuring Berlin’s NBA stars Franz and Moritz Wagner, has received overwhelmingly positive press coverage and amassed over 2 million streams on the ARD Mediathek since its December release. Coming in 2025: the comedy series Softies (winner of the RTL+ Storyteller Competition) starring rising star Damian Hardung, as well as Herbertstraße and Die Mafiamorde von Duisburg.

MBB-funded serial formats deliver significant economic benefits. The new Sat.1 daily soap Spreewaldklinik brings numerous shooting days and jobs to the Brandenburg town of Lübben, with over 80 episodes airing. Production for Season 2 begins this summer. In 2024, €2.3 million in funding for serial formats will generate €5.8 million in regional spending.

With a focus on emerging viewing habits and distribution models, MBB supports a diverse range of narratives and formats, prioritizing projects with a technological edge. New virtual production sets are establishing themselves: Interconnection and ZwischenWelten are being produced using the LED Cave Berlin.

The “Digital Media Production Brandenburg” program supports projects like the interactive VR game show The Privilege Game Show and the multiplayer mixed-reality experience DeMaré, developed by Potsdam-based studios arkanum pictures and Actrio. Arkanum pictures is already blending innovative storytelling with digital production technologies in virtual production series such as Wingspan and Interconnection, filmed against massive LED walls in Babelsberg’s Dark Bay and the LED Cave Berlin.

Beyond technological innovation, MBB-funded series embody diversity, fresh perspectives, and bold breaks from format and genre conventions. For example, Der korrekte Diener, MBB’s first TikTok series, boasts 130,000 followers and 2.8 million likes. The pilot episode of the school sitcom MINTs, featuring TikTok star Kaan Ertem and other young talents, recently launched on YouTube. Meanwhile, the three-part documentary series Let’s Talk About Porn, now available on ARD Mediathek, offers a female perspective on the porn industry.

MBB specifically supports young creators through programs like DIGI.TALe, in collaboration with the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, to encourage innovative and experimental formats in series, games, and XR. The next generation of media talent is highly attuned to cutting-edge technologies like XR and virtual production. Among the supported projects are two documentary series that expand their narratives into WebXR (Architectures of Memory) and gaming (Intersection).

With a strong funding track record and extensive networking opportunities, MBB’s new media funding will continue its commitment to the media industry in 2025, ensuring the capital region remains the creative hub for innovation and diversity.

The 2025 calendar is packed with highlight events that, in addition to content funding, foster exchange and professional development across industries, strengthening Berlin-Brandenburg’s position as a media hub of the future.

• Delegation Trip to SERIES MANIA in Lille: From March 21–28, Seriesly Berlin will connect rising series producers at Europe’s largest TV series festival. #MBBGefördert
• German Computer Game Award (DCP): On May 14, the most prestigious award in the German games industry will once again be presented in Berlin.
• #GamesSpringBerlin: Around the DCP, the A MAZE. Berlin Festival (May 14–17) and the MBB event Spotlight Berlin will offer a diverse program and networking opportunities for the gaming industry.
• re:publica with a new MBB Format: From May 26–28, the STATION Berlin will once again become the gathering place for creatives, producers, and the digital community. MBB is sponsoring media-related programming and introducing a new format on May 27. Workshops and exhibition spaces will feature five MBB-funded events, each showcasing cross-industry presentations from the region. The successful MBB Sundowner Reception will celebrate its second edition on the evening of Day 2.
• Seriesly Berlin Returns: Following its successful debut in 2024, the next edition is scheduled for September 2025.
• Games Ground Berlin: From November 14–16, Berlin’s popular gaming festival will return to the Alte Münze, offering three days of gaming culture, industry exchange, engaging panels, and innovative games.

New Media funding decisions

Published 16 January 2025
Source: Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg