We are now closed to entries for the 2012 awards and judging has begun. We received over 75 entries for this year’s awards, spread across the three categories: Outstanding Connected TV Service, Outstanding Technology Innovation, and The Companion Screen Prize. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held on May 2nd at 5:40pm at the Connected TV Summit in London. More details on the ceremony will be announced later. You do not need to be a delegate to the Connected TV Summit to attend the ceremony.

The finalists will be announced on April 2nd. There will be six finalists in both the Outstanding Connected TV Service and Outstanding Technology Innovation categories. Three winners will then be chosen for each category. The Companion Screen Prize will have three finalists and one winner. From the seven winners, one entry will be chosen as the ‘Overall Winner – Connected TV Awards 2012′.

Finalists and Winners

* Outstanding Connected TV Service (an award is presented to the best three, from six finalists)

* Outstanding Technology Innovation (an award is presented to the best three, from six finalists)

* The Companion Screen Prize (one award is presented, from three finalists)

From the seven awards recipients, one entry will be chosen to be the ‘Overall Winner – Connected TV Awards 2012.’

About the Connected TV Awards 2012

After a successful debut last year, the awards will be held again at the Connected TV Summit in May when stakeholders from across the TV ecosystem gather to discuss developments in post-convergence TV. The awards recognise service and technology innovation, market impact and business thought leadership in the Connected TV marketplace, which includes Hybrid Broadcast Broadband, and this year we have added a new category to recognise the best innovations in companion screen apps and services.

The judges for 2012 are: Ben Schwarz, CEO, CTOi Consulting; William Cooper, Founder and Chief Executive, informitv; Ian Nock, Principal Consultant for Blackarrow Consulting; Graham Lovelace, Director, Lovelace Consulting; Jay Chinnadorai, Managing Director, Sumtotal; Stephen Adshead, Associate Director, MTM London; Richard Griffiths, Partner, Richard Griffiths Contracting; David Mercer, VP, Principal Analyst, Strategy Analytics; Jack Davison, Managing Consultant, 3Vision; Steven Hawley, Principal Analyst & Consultant, TV Strategies, and John Moulding, Editor, Videonet.

Judging criteria

Judges will consider the need to: Reward innovation and pioneering spirit; Reward good business and market judgement; Reward services with obvious and compelling consumer benefits that advance the television experience; Reward technologies that enable service improvements and innovation, and which strengthen business models; Pay particular regard to proven or potential market-makers and game-changers.

For the ‘Outstanding Connected TV Service’ category, our definition of a Connected TV service is one that provides video to consumers that is delivered via broadband (therefore using online video delivery technologies) to a television screen. The video can be routed to the TV screen directly or via any intermediary device like a set-top box or games console, etc.

The ‘Outstanding Technology Innovation’ category is open to any kind of hardware or software that enables the management, processing, delivery or display, etc. of online video and related services/applications (e.g. programme guide, advertising, apps) that appears on TV screens owned/rented by consumers. Where the technology is used for traditional TV delivery as well (e.g. a content management system) your entry should focus on why it is applicable to, and important for, the Connected TV marketplace (this is the part the judges will care about). Technology standardisation initiatives will be considered in the ‘Outstanding Technology Innovation’ category.

The ‘Companion Screen Prize’ category covers services/apps and technology. For the purposes of these awards, the definition of a Companion Screen means a device that can be connected to the Internet, has its own screen, but is NOT a television set, so typical devices would be smartphones, tablets, netbooks, laptops and a PC, for example. Any split screen or overlay types of interactivity that appear on a connected TV, but only on the television screen, should be entered into one of the other two categories. In this category, the TV service that is being complemented/augmented or controlled DOES NOT have to be a Connected TV service and can be traditional non-connected (e.g. no Internet involved) broadcast or on-demand. Any service/app entered into this category should provide some form of information, entertainment, interactivity, etc., that in some way complements or augments what can be viewed on a normal television set (e.g. Tweeting on a tablet about a show on the television), or otherwise enables some form of control over the television set or service (e.g. remote control or remote PVR recording).  Any technology entered into this category should enable such an experience.

Connected TV Awards Results 2011

Winners in the Outstanding Technology Innovation category were:

NDS Snowflake
thePlatform mpx
Ericsson IPTV Remote

Winners in the Outstanding Connected TV Service category were:

FetchTV (IP Vision)
LOVEFiLM
Sony BRAVIA Internet Video

The ‘Outstanding Achievement in Connected TV’ (overall winner) award went to:

FetchTV (IP Vision)

More information

For questions about how the awards work, how to enter, judging, etc. contact John Moulding, Editor, Videonet: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For questions about marketing and partnerships, contact Justin Lebbon, Publisher, Videonet: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it