More than 350 television executives from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) community will gather in Berlin next week (9 - 11 September) to pitch programme ideas, share best practices and recognise industry achievement as part of the annual Eurovision TV Meetings.   

The three-day event organized by Eurovision, the name under which the EBU produces and distributes top quality entertainment, includes a series of parallel workshops and meetings on topical industry matters.

Head of Eurovision TV Bettina Brinkmann says a key purpose for the event is to open up new ways for Members to see things.

"Delivering value for the public purse is at the forefront of the minds of our Members. The Fiction Plenary (9 September) will examine efficient ways to coproduce and recycle successful formats. What can we learn from remaking a successful format? How do you approach the rights, and legally optimise the production to avoid high taxes? – questions we intend to explore with the help of international experts." 

Monday afternoon will showcase new audience-approved Fiction Formats – one of two new genres to be featured during an expanded Eurovision Creative Forum. A further half day devoted to Children's Formats will be presented during the Children & Youth Plenary (11 September).  

As with previous editions, only Factual & Entertainment formats showcased during the Creative Forum will be considered for the "7 Best Formats" award, which will be announced during an evening ceremony (10 September).

The secrets to the success of the Eurovision Song Contest will be a further topic for discussion during a workshop (9 September) titled "Building the brand – creating a strong national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest". Best practices, ranging from how to stage large-scale events to cost-efficiency, will be shared to help grow national selection.

Elsewhere, Members will participate in the Eurovision Science & Knowledge Experts' Group. In addition to a half-day pitching session, participants will be updated on a project involving broadcasters including EBU broadcasters to co-develop a format to engage young audiences in the European elections.

The TV Meetings close on Wednesday (11 September) following the 71^st meeting of the Eurovision TV Committee, chaired by Jean Philip De Tender, the General Manager of Eén at Flemish public service broadcaster VRT.

More details on schedules and attending the Eurovision TV Meetings can be found here.