Audiovisual and interactive media includes film and video, TV and radio, video games and internet podcasting. The Austrian definition of the creative industries includes the entire software and games sector, which has very strong economic indicators (see table at chapter 3.5.1.). However, the games sector is not reported separately and is of lesser economic importance. Radio and TV is the smallest subsector of the Austrian creative industry. In total, the audiovisual and interactive media sector in Austria consists of about 11 700 companies and about 53 600 staff, which generates a turnover of about EUR 8.7 million and a gross added value of about EUR 3.9 million (see table at chapter 3.5.1.).
The film sector has been developing dynamically for several years now. It is also an area for which subsidies have been restructured. In order to strengthen the promotion of the new generation in the film sphere, a coordination office in the Film Department in the Arts and Culture Division of the BMKOES, together with the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI), functions as a networking point and coordinates the structuring of the nationwide promotion of the upcoming generation. The Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) is Austria’s largest promotion institution. It is a national film funding agency that supports the Austrian film business based on both cultural and economic aspects. Film funding aims at promoting Austrian cinema as well as co-productions on equal terms.
A further instrument to strengthen the Austrian film industry was introduced in 2011, with the support initiative Filmstandort Austria (FISA Film Location Austria) by the Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort (BMDW) to support national film production. Support is provided for the production of national productions, Austrian-foreign co-productions and service productions. The funding measure has an annual budget of EUR 7.5 million.
In order to promote cooperation between film and television, the Film / Television Agreement was concluded between the Austrian Film Institute and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation for the first time in 1981. The objective is to provide television support in particular for the production of Austrian films. With the renewal of the Film / Television Agreement in 2011, annual funding for the Austrian film industry was raised from the previous EUR 5.9 million to EUR 8 million per year. A committee from members of the Filminstitute (ÖFI) and the ORF decides on the granting of funds. The request may be filed by film producers.
The Austrian Television Fund (Fernsehfonds Austria) is administrated by RTR-GmbH (Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications) which receives EUR 13.5 million from the fees collected in accordance with Art. 3 (1) of the Austrian Broadcasting Fees Act (RGG). Funding is available for the promotion and administration of television productions (including television films, series and documentaries). More information related to the public funding system of the audiovisual sector can be found under the legislation chapter 4.2.6.
In recent years, a digitisation strategy (Digital Roadmap Austria) has been drawn up and implemented at federal level. Companies from the interactive media sector can also make use of the newly created support programmes.
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