£15 million boost for Screen Yorkshire (From York Press)

£15 million boost for Screen Yorkshire

9:20am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in News

SCREEN Yorkshire expects to create hundreds of jobs with a new £15 million fund to invest in the creative and digital industries.

The organisation, which supports and champions the film, TV, games and interactive media industries in Yorkshire & Humber, has been awarded £7.5 million from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which will be matched by private sector investors to put into in Yorkshire-based companies creating content within film, TV, games and the digital sector.

It will also be used to attract productions to the region.

Charles Cecil, managing director of York-based Revolution Software and a member of the Screen Yorkshire board, said: “Broadband has opened up huge opportunities for video game developers to self-publish their titles and, in doing so, retain the lions’ share of the revenues. Yorkshire, in particular, has a large number of successful, independent developers who find themselves in a fantastic position to grasp these opportunities.

“However, to capitalise on these opportunities, upfront investment is required and can be very challenging to secure in this tough financial environment.”

Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire, said: “The fund will also create hundreds of jobs across the supply chain, which is so critical at the moment. I’m sure Yorkshire can now continue to create great content and to build on its legacy of film and TV productions.”

Visit screenyorkshire.co.uk to apply for the Yorkshire Content Fund.