Canada Media Fund Awards $6M for Innovative Digital Media Projects
Thirty-one media companies operating out of Canada have received Canadian government funding for their interactive digital media projects. The awarded projects include 21 games, seven rich interactive media, and three software applications. This funding has been made available through the Canada Media Fund’s Experimental Stream – Innovation Program under its Prototyping and Marketing & Promotion support areas.
The Canada Media Fund’s Experimental Stream – Innovation Program has invested $6,100,000 in Canadian government funding into 31 digital media projects.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is a not-for-profit organization that distributes funding and promotes the production of Canadian digital media content and applications. The Experimental Stream – Innovation Program supports production, software prototyping, and marketing projects. Via the program, digital media and software developers can transform ideas into products that are market ready and repay project costs once the project’s results can be commercialized.
$6M in CMF Digital Media Funding for 31 Projects
Thirty-one firms have received Canadian government funding for their innovative digital media content via the Canada Media Fund Experimental Stream – Innovation Program. This funding will provide Prototyping and Marketing & Promotion support for digital media applications and software.
A combined total of $6.1M has been awarded to interactive content intended for public use by Canadians or the media industry.
Below is a glimpse of 10 of the awarded projects:
Innovation Program – Prototyping
| Title | Applicant | Content Type | Funding |
| City Cleaner | Back to the Game | Game | $123,840 |
| Dakini Rising | Air Agency | Game | $250,000 |
| Flipside | Flipside XR Inc. | Software | $250,000 |
| UNION | Altar Creative inc. | Game | $198,000 |
| VFC | 9219-3010 Québec Inc. | Rich Interactive Media | $221,901 |
Innovation Program – Marketing & Promotion
| Title | Applicant | Content Type | Funding |
| Bring to Light | Red Meat Games Inc. | Game | $170,200 |
| Holy City VR | Occupied VR Inc. | Rich Interactive Media | $300,000 |
| StellarX | OVA GESTION-CONSEIL INC. | Software | $275,000 |
| Transpose | Secret Location Inc. | Game | $228,450 |
| Fracter | Guru Arcade Ltd. | Gamw | $183,087 |
Canada Media Fund: Experimental Stream – Innovation Program
The Canada Media Fund supports producers, broadcasters, creators, and distributors who generate content for Canadians and international audiences to enjoy. Through the Fund’s Experimental Stream – Innovation Program, innovative and leading-edge digital media content and software applications may be eligible for funding.
The Canada Media Fund: Experimental Stream – Innovation Program offers up to 50-75% of project costs to a maximum $250k-$1M in repayable/recoupable digital media funding.
CMF’s Experimental Innovation Program offers support to three types of projects:
- Media Prototyping: This phase is for experimenting, testing, and validating different concepts and hypotheses to arrive at a first functional prototype.
- Media Production: The creation of a final, market ready version of projects, including localization of the project and early marketing/commercialization activities.
- Marketing and Promotion: Completed media projects that focus on creating and distributing national/international marketing campaigns.
The program typically launches twice a year with spring and fall submission dates. There has been no announcement of the next deadline.
The CMF Experimental Stream is one of the many Canadian government funding programs available to digital media developers. To learn more about project financing options, please download the Types of Government Funding slide deck.
