Media Blend Hackathon 2026

Media Blend is a three-day Hackathon event in Vienna, gathering media professionals and innovators from around Europe. It involves 72 hours of creative problem-solving followed by a pitching session where 10 teams will compete for the €15,000 prize pool to kick off their projects. The organisers of the Hackathon are Fix Foundation, in partnership with the International Press Institute (IPI), within the Media Innovation Europe project.

This year’s hackathon brings together journalists, media managers, and entrepreneurs to develop concrete, sustainable business models tailored to their own media organisations and prototype new products with guidance from leading industry mentors. Follow-up support provides a practical pathway from concept to market-ready solution, and winning teams receive kickstarter grants to accelerate implementation.

What the event offers

• Travel support: travel grants for selected finalist teams to attend the event in Vienna;
• Kick‑off funding: €5,000 grants for 3 winning teams to launch or scale their projects after the hackathon;
• Visibility & access: a complimentary pass to the IPI Media Innovation Festival 2026 in Vienna and present your project in an open pitching session on the festival’s opening day;
• Capacity‑building: an online ideation session and a digital simulation game with expert feedback to refine and stress‑test ideas;
• Tailored support: pitch coaching and mentorship from experienced media and business experts during the hackathon;
• Community: networking opportunities with media innovators, editors, product leaders, funders, and partners from across Europe.

Eligibility 

The organisers invite applications from teams that:

• Work in journalism or media and are part of an established organisation (newsroom, media outlet, non‑profit, etc.);
• Are based in one of the following countries: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, or Ukraine. We particularly encourage applications from different media organisations to collaborate and establish cross-border partnerships;
• Want to address a clear business challenge for their organisation, such as revenue instability, paying audience retention, revenue diversification, or dependence on a single funder or platform.

Each team should consist of 2-4 people with the skills to plan and implement a business model project in practice. At least one team member should be a decision‑maker within the organisation (for example, editor‑in‑chief, product lead, business or revenue lead).

How to apply 

Applicants and teams can apply using this application form. The last date to apply is 15 March 2026, 23:59 CET. Applicants can contact the following email in case of questions- mediablendhack@gmail.com.

For more information, please visit this page.