France Télévisions, Swedish Radio and BBC first to join Sandbox Hub

On 8 and 9 February, broadcasters France Télévisions, Swedish Radio and BBC visited Belgian broadcaster VRT for the kickoff of The Sandbox Hub, part of the European MediaRoad project, which is led by the European Broadcasting Union.

The Sandbox Hub aims to build a European network of innovation incubators. Inspired by the VRT Sandbox model of Belgian broadcaster VRT, these broadcasters will either establish their own incubator or they will exchange experiences and expertise with the network.

The Sandbox Hub, led by VRT Sandbox, aims to create a European network of media innovation incubators through which groundbreaking ideas can be tested and scaled. These incubators, or Sandboxes, are hosted by established media organisations, and welcome all applications from entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs with media-related concepts involving technology, journalism, social media and content and can work in collaboration with leading media research institutes and independent producers. Each Sandbox will operate independently, but will be connected across Europe over a platform, on which they can share successful cases for broader implementation.

The Sandbox Hub is based on VRT’s award-winning ‘Sandbox’ and other existing initiatives such as ‘BBC Taster’, which provide entrepreneurs the opportunity to experiment with new ideas, as well as test and scale promising concepts in operational environments.

“As the Flemish public broadcaster, our goal is to remain agile and continuously strengthen our connection with the audience by offering a better service. With the project, we will be able to build a European network and foster a strong and innovative European media industry.”

The Sandbox Hub was established early on in September as one of the three pillars of the EU-funded MediaRoad project. The project, led by the EBU, involves some of Europe’s most prominent broadcasters, leading media research institutes, and independent producers.

During the two year project lifespan, the consortium will research new opportunities to shape the future of European media industry and seek out new European broadcasters to join their network. More information is available at www.mediaroad.eu.