Previously accessible only to television and new media producers in Ontario and Quebec, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has announced it will now operate nationally.

The Bell fund has also been extended past its original closure date of the end of 1999 through to 2001 and the board of directors says plans are underway to establish the fund permanently.

With a mandate to stimulate partnerships between television and new media producers, the Bell fund awards a minimum of $2 million per year in grants for the production of tv programming linked to associate Websites. Since its establishment in 1997, the fund has supported 29 projects with $5.2 million.

New media projects can access up to 50% of their budgets to a maximum of $250,000, as well as support the related tv program by matching 50% of the broadcaster licence fee to a maximum of $75,000.

Also, while new media projects were previously eligible for one-time funding only, this regulation has been revised to allow additional financial support for the Website component only, if there is a second season of a series produced and significant enhancements are made to the Website.

New deadlines for the fund are May 1 and Oct. 1.

Two projects were awarded funding in the first quarter of 1999. For King and Empire, from Breakthrough Films & Television of Toronto for History Television, looks at turning points and significant battles of wwi as seen through the eyes of Canadian soldiers. The associate Website is produced by Hypel Inc. Hotel, a tv and new media project produced by In Extremis Images for airing on Tele-Quebec, follows a police inspector who investigates a murder via the Internet.