Shortlists revealed for Videonet Connected TV Awards 2020
The shortlists for the Videonet Connected TV Awards 2020 have been announced. The awards, organised by Videonet magazine, Mediatel News’ sister publication, showcase stand-out innovation and leadership across the TV industry and the shortlisted candidates cover streaming video, advertising technology, data analytics and the user experience, among other things.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday March 18 at Connected TV World Summit.
Here are the categories and their shortlists:
The Premium TV Award
- BeIN Media, for their fight against piracy
- BritBox, for BritBox
- The Walt Disney Company, for Disney+
- FIFA, for Women’s World Cup France 2019
Excellence in Data Analytics, AI or ML
- 3SS & Media Distillery, Solution for Ultra Personal TV
- Kaltura, Kaltura Targeted TV Solution
- Synamedia, Smart Rate Control – content adaptive encoding for live streaming
- Vionlabs, Vionlabs Content Discovery Platform
Game-Changing Advertising Technology
- Adgile Media, Intelligent Content Recognition (ICR)
- Finecast with Volvo, harmonised addressable TV and digital advertising
- Imagine Communications with Nine Network, xG GamePlan
- Streamhub, broadcaster VOD data alliance
- Yospace & TV4, Server-Side Ad Insertion with MMS tracking
Contribution to Streaming Video Excellence
- ActiveVideo, ActiveVideo AppCloud
- Enea Openwave, Radio Access Network Congestion Manager (RCM)
- Harmonic, VOS360 Live Streaming Platform
- Kaltura, Kaltura TV Platform powering Flipkart video service launch
- MainStreaming, The HyperNode
Advancing the TV User Experience
- 24i, 24i Video Experience Platform powering Slovak Telekom’s Magio Go
- EPAM, Liberty Global’s Horizon 4
- Freeview, Accessible TV Guide for connected Freeview Play televisions
- SES, SES Satellite and OTT in Sync solution
- Tata Sky, Personalised user experiences powered by ThinkAnalytics
The Advertising Leadership Award
- Corus, for pushing the envelope in a slow-moving market
- Hulu, for proving the model for advertising support in streaming
- OpenAP, for a collaboration-led journey to audience buying
- Sky Media, for driving advanced TV advertising in Europe
Customer Premise Innovation
- CommScope, Smart Media Device (SMD)
- United Cloud, EON Smart Boxes
Protecting Content and its Value
- Irdeto, Irdeto Control on the Go
- NAGRA, Anti-Piracy IP Blocking Solution
- Verimatrix, nTitleMe
Outstanding Contribution to Operational Efficiency
- Kaltura, Vodafone’s international expansion using Kaltura TV Platform
- SoftAtHome, Eyes’ON QoE diagnosis solution
- Synamedia, Video Network Service Manager
Lifetime Television Industry Achievement Award
- Peter Docherty, for contribution to personalised content recommendations
- Jacques Lemancq, for contribution to multicast ABR
- Nick Lodge, for contribution to digital terrestrial TV and audio description
- Drew Major & Mark Hurst, for contribution to adaptive bit rate streaming
John Moulding, Editor at Videonet and the Chair of Judges, comments: “There are some real game-changers here – solutions that solve pressing market needs. The judges applied their vast experience to ensure realism too – we can be sure that the technologies on this list are going to be around for a while.”
The judges – television categories
(all categories except ‘Game-changing Advertising Technology’ and ‘The Advertising Leadership Award’)
- Ben Lavender, CPO, DAZN
- Roma Kojima, Senior Director, OTT Video (CBC Gem), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- Steven Hawley, Principal Analyst and Consultant, tvstrategies
- Dan Fahy, VP Commercial and Content Distribution, Viacom International Media Networks
- Sion Wynn Jones, Director of Product, YouView
- William Cooper, Founder and Chief Executive, informitv
- Janine Smith, Digital Content Director, Channel 4 Television
- Ian Nock, Managing Director and Founder, Fairmile West
- Colin Phillips, IPTV & CPE Solutions Architect, BT
- Erwan Nedellec, Orange Referent Expert and Senior Expert on TV Technical Solutions, Orange
- Benjamin Schwarz, Consultant, CToic Consulting
- Anna-Maria Vujinovic, Director Digital & Business Development, Tech and Data, RTL
- Thomas Helbo, CTO and SVP Technology, Tele2
- David Price Principal, Scala Advisors
- Anette Schaefer, Managing Director, BIG Picture
- Michael Roedel, Head of TV Experience and Design, Vodafone Group
- John Moulding, Editor-in-Chief, Videonet.
The judges – advertising categories
(Covering ‘Game-changing Advertising Technology’ and ‘The Advertising Leadership Award’)
- Jeff Eales, Director of Systems & Development, Sky
- Mathias Berg, COO, TV4 Group and Head of Business Unit Advertising, Bonnier Broadcasting
- Jean-Paul Edwards, Chief Product Development Officer, OMD EMEA
- Paola Colombo, General Manager, Adtech and Business Development, Publitalia ‘80
- John Moulding, Editor-in-Chief, Videonet.