RTS Launches 2009 Innovation Awards

The world's most respected forum for discussion and debate in the television community, The Royal Television Society (RTS), has launched the 2009 Innovation Awards.
The awards recognise outstanding achievement in the development of new technologies in distribution, production and manipulation. They also reward exceptional creativity in exploiting these new developments in new forms of content.
The Awards planning committee is chaired by Jeff Henry, former Director of ITV Consumer, and comprises some of the most powerful and influential companies and individuals in the industry, including Dominic Cameron, ITV; Mike Darcey, BSkyB; Ashley Highfield, Microsoft; Erik Huggers, BBC; John Ive, IveTech; David Lowen, RTS Honorary Secretary and Chair of Awards; and Jonathan Webb, Virgin Media Television.
The awards categories are designed to emphasise the growing interdependence of content and technology, reaching out to new communities of users and new, often interactive, ways of communicating.
Jeff Henry, Chair, RTS Innovation Awards, said: "These awards recognise the significant efforts being made across the changing media landscape and of the talented individuals who drive these initiatives - those who are helping take media into the next generation. The calibre of individuals who have agreed to sit on this year's planning committee is testimony to the growing prestige of the awards."
The award categories are:

• The Under the Bonnet Award - recognises a significant advance in the way content is managed or transferred in any part of the chain from development to end user. This could be anything from a new example of engineering excellence to the creation of enabling software or database development. This award is not intended for hardware.
• The Gizmo Award - recognises a "box of tricks" that is readily available in the UK. This piece of hardware may or may not contain revolutionary software but as a piece of equipment answers a previously unmet need. Judges will primarily look at the functionality but will also take into account how easily the hardware can be assembled, integrated, maintained, understood and used.
• The Raising the Bar Award - recognises a technique, technology, production device, or programme which sets a new "gold standard" of expectations. This could be anything that has taken the viewing or using experience forward, to a level that cannot be lowered again without disappointing or losing viewers - such as a new picture quality, a production technology within a programme or use of production tools in a new and exciting way.
• The On the Move Award - recognises either a significant advance in the way users can access content while away from base, or a significant development in mobile content. This could be a service, device, product or programme.
• The On Target Award -recognises significant value to a niche community of users or viewers. The award will recognise a new service, product, programme or piece of hardware that benefits a not necessarily large range of users. Entries will need to demonstrate an identifiable community benefit.
• The User-Generated Content Award - recognises advances in the area of development, production, organisation, manipulation or distribution of content, which is either user-generated or involves viewers and users widely in interactivity. This could be wither informational or entertainment and could be based on linear TV programmes that have been re-invented for new audiences or to help form user relationships.
• The Judges' Award for Outstanding Innovation - this will be decided by the judges from the full range of ideas, development, activity and achievement within and related to the media. They will recognise an individual or group that has shown great vision in determining the future development of media and how the wider community will relate to all aspects of communication. No entries are required for this award as it will be at the discretion of the judges.

All entries must be work carried out principally within the last two years. Entries will be accepted from organisations based in the UK or internationally, as long as the hardware or application is readily available to UK users.
Cost of entry is £129.95 (inc VAT). The closing date for entries is Friday August 14 2009. The Awards Dinner will be held on Tuesday November 10 at BAFTA.
For more details on categories and to request an entry form, please contact Lindset Cran on: [email protected] or call: +44 (0) 20 7822 2825.
(KMcA/BMcC)