The organizers of NEM have outlined the schedule for their upcoming CEE media events, alongside a significant expansion of the NEM Awards. NEM Zagreb 2026 will take place on December 7 and 8 at the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, while the flagship NEM Dubrovnik market is scheduled to return from June 7 to 10, 2027, at its traditional venue, the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace.
Operating under the banner “Inspiring Video Creators in CEE,” the Zagreb edition will gather the region’s content creation ecosystem, encompassing television and film professionals, producers, brands, agencies, and technology platforms. The event’s agenda will address the future of video through the lenses of creative development, production, marketing, and artificial intelligence. Croatian marketing and television agency Mediavision, which organizes the events, confirmed that Early Bird participation packages for Zagreb are available until September 30.
Sanja Božić-Ljubičić, founder of NEM Dubrovnik and NEM Zagreb, noted that the strategic planning for the upcoming editions builds on the momentum of a record-breaking market earlier this year. ‘Each edition of NEM continues to raise the bar, and NEM Dubrovnik 2026 marked our biggest edition to date, bringing together more industry leaders, companies, and participants than ever before’, she stated. The executive emphasized the complementary nature of the two markets, positioning Dubrovnik as the primary television industry gathering in the CEE region, while Zagreb—launched in 2019—serves as a dedicated hub for creativity, innovation, and emerging creators.
A central component of the December event will be the return of the NEM Awards. For the 2026 edition, the program is introducing a third competitive category: “Pitch & Play Live!”. This new segment is exclusively dedicated to original unscripted entertainment formats developed in the CEE region between May 2025 and May 2026. An international selection committee will evaluate submissions based on originality, universality, and international potential. The creators behind the three highest-scoring projects will secure a spot to pitch their concepts live at NEM Zagreb before an audience of industry professionals and an international jury, providing a critical platform to export regional unscripted ideas to the global market.
The expanded awards structure will also feature its two established scripted categories. The Best Pre-Development TV Series in Europe competition will focus on original, early-stage concepts, granting creators the opportunity to introduce their projects to prospective partners, buyers, and decision-makers. Meanwhile, the Best Finished TV Series in CEE category will highlight completed scripted productions from the region that demonstrate the creative scale to reach audiences beyond their domestic borders. Submissions for the Pitch & Play Live! unscripted competition will close on October 23, while the application deadline for both scripted categories is set for November 11.
