Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM)
Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) — Irish for "Media Commission" — is the Irish broadcasting and online-content regulator. CnaM replaced the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) on 15 March 2023, taking on the BAI's broadcasting functions plus new online-safety powers under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022.
Always say "CnaM" or "Coimisiún na Meán"
Never refer to this body as "BAI" in any current document. The rebrand was a clean handover — the BAI legal entity wound down, and its statutory functions transferred to CnaM. Materials referencing BAI are pre-March-2023 and should be updated.
What CnaM does
- Regulates Irish broadcasters (RTÉ — Raidió Teilifís Éireann, TG4 — Teilifís na Gaeilge, Virgin Media Television and others)
- Administers the CnaM Sound & Vision funding scheme (formerly BAI Sound & Vision)
- Online safety regulation under the 2022 Act
- Enforces broadcasting codes (advertising, accuracy, fairness, children's programming)
- Licenses commercial broadcasters
What CnaM does NOT do
- Is not the S481 authority. Producers occasionally assume CnaM handles the tax credit because it interacts with broadcasters; it does not. See DCCS — Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (cultural cert) + Revenue — the Irish tax authority (tax credit).
- Does not develop or finance projects directly outside the Sound & Vision scheme — see Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann) for production + development funding.
Sound & Vision
CnaM's flagship funding scheme is Sound & Vision — currently in its fourth round (S&V4). Funds programmes for Irish broadcast that meet specific cultural / public-interest themes. See CnaM Sound & Vision for round structure, theme list, eligibility matrix.
Related
Sources
- · Coimisiún na Meán, cnam.ie
- · Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022