Mission
Future Media Hubs is an international network of media organisations that focuses on innovation through collaboration and knowledge sharing. After the Sandbox Hub was established in January 2018 with the goal to connect startups and scale-ups with other media organisations in Europe, the demand has now grown for a network that brings together an international community of media stakeholders to collaborate on different initiatives. These initiatives vary from supporting intrapreneurship, introducing young digital talent, to collaborating with startups, and so much more.
The main goal is to foster innovation and accelerate the development of the media industry and their local ecosystems by facilitating partnerships between public as well as commercial media organisations. We strongly believe that a broader, international collaboration and a network of like-minded people can grow, support and accelerate brilliant ideas. In order to make this happen, we gathered a community that shares the same vision and created Future Media Hubs.
In order to enable regional media players to achieve impact, we must strengthen our partnerships and collaborate more locally in the future. It is by exchanging knowledge, inspiring one another and working together, that each of us can grow and empower the European (media) ecosystem. Our ambition is to strengthen the Future Media Hubs’ network outcomes by building a visible and respected platform, establishing a recognisable brand and generating a strategic presence for media innovation in Brussels, the heart of Europe.
The impact of Future Media Hubs is apparent on several levels. By providing the opportunity to startups and entrepreneurs to deploy their innovations at media organisations across countries, they are able to further develop their technologies, scale their businesses and challenge peers to maintain a competitive advantage, resulting in economic impact. Within this network, insights in digital trends and technological know-how is shared, which allows media makers to develop their skills and grow on a professional level as well. This personal impact and empowerment in return underpins the value of fostering talent and leveraging digital skills within a media organisation.
Lastly, by bringing together different ecosystems from various countries, Future Media Hubs is able to respond to local challenges by sharing expertise and experiences from other countries that have tackled similar issues. Moreover, the diversity of ideas and initiatives that Future Media Hubs facilitates could also raise awareness of new opportunities for reaching, informing and connecting audiences in both larger and smaller countries.
"Broadcasters face many challenges including budget restrictions, technological disruptions and competition from major online platforms. To overcome these circumstances, they need to become smarter and more efficient, in other words, they need to explore new ideas and innovate. Future Media Hubs offers the opportunity to establish such an innovative environment and to contribute towards the sustainability and growth of these organisations."
Mike Nugent - Dep. Director of Technology at ERT