Awards

Following its successful inauguration at the 6th HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2017 in Rome, the HbbTV Association is pleased to present the nominees and winners of the HbbTV Awards 2018. The contest showcases and celebrates excellence in the HbbTV community.

Nominees & Winners

Best use of HbbTV for advertising and promotion

One key way that HbbTV can generate revenue for broadcasters and operators is through advertising and promotion. The Best Advertising and Promotion Award recognises innovations in enhancing advertising using HbbTV based technology, this may be through addressability or interactivity. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated service is enhancing the value of advertising.

The nominees are:

Mautilus, s.r.o.: TV GAMES (Czech Republic)
Antenna Hungaria Ltd.: MinDig TV Plusz – “Raid the Cage” (Hungary)
Admeira AG: OK Button: Dialogue Case (Switzerland)

The winner is: Admeira AG: OK Button: Dialogue Case (Switzerland)

Jury quote: “This is an important and powerful solution to drive engagement in advertising.”

Best use of HbbTV for broadcast enhancement

HbbTV can be used to make broadcast programmes more engaging for audiences through enhancements that bring value to viewers, broadcasters and programme makers. The Best Broadcast Enhancement Award recognises innovations in interactive television. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated service is bringing value to the programming it enhances.

The nominees are:

Sofia Digital Ltd: Participation TV with HbbTV (Finland)
SRG SSR: Soccer live statistics (Switzerland)
Channel One: HbbTV voting services for: “Voice”, “Who wants to be a millionaire” and “Let’s get married” (Russia)
Antenna Hungaria Ltd.: MinDig TV Plusz – World Cup Service (Hungary)
TeraVolt GmbH: BR – Wahlspecial (Germany)

The winner is: Channel One: HbbTV voting services for: “Voice”, “Who wants to be a millionaire” and “Let’s get married” (Russia)

Jury quote: “Interactive TV shows at their best: Engaging and enhancing.”

Runner-up winner: Sofia Digital Ltd: Participation TV with HbbTV (Finland)

Jury quote:”Brings interactive entertainment to a sizeable audience.”

Best multiscreen HbbTV service

One of the key features of HbbTV 2 is support for multiscreen services, enhancing and extending interactivity and engagement through mobile devices. The Best Multiscreen Service Award recognises research and innovations in HbbTV services running across multiple screens. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated service will bring value to the viewer’s experience and to service providers.

The nominees are:

BT: Multi Screen MotoGP concept (UK)
Tivù: tivùon! HbbTV companion screen (Italy)
IRT: A Tangible TV Companion for a Children’s Quiz Show (Germany)

The winner is: BT: Multi Screen MotoGP concept (UK)

Jury quote: “Very high impact, a good combination of social media, web and HbbTV.”

Best use of HbbTV for content discovery (VOD and Guides)

HbbTV is increasingly being used to create content discovery services such as linear TV guides and video-on-demand applications. This use case is being advanced by the HbbTV OpApp specification. The Best Content Discovery Award recognises innovations in content discovery applications. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated service brings value to consumers and service providers.

The nominees are:

Mediaset: Mediaset Play (Italy)
ARTE G.E.I.E.: The ARTE HbbTV App (France)
ProSiebenSat.1 Digital: Red Button Entertainment Feed (Germany)
Bayerische Medien Technik GmbH: Lokal-TV-Portal (Germany)
Cellnex: LOVEStv (Spain)

The winner is: ARTE G.E.I.E.: The ARTE HbbTV App (France)

Jury quote: “An elegant, rich and sophisticated user experience.”

Best marketing or promotion of an HbbTV based service

Great use of technology does not automatically deliver a successful service. Most services need to be backed by great marketing and promotion to achieve success. The Best Promotion Award recognises innovation and creativity in marketing and promotion of HbbTV based services. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated marketing or promotional campaign drove usage of an HbbTV service.

The nominees are:

Tivù: tivùon! HbbTV service (Italy)
Freeview: Freeview’s Free Love Freeway Campaign (UK)
CCMA: HbbTV promotion for TV3 CANAL SUPER3 (Spain)

The winner is: CCMA: HbbTV promotion for TV3 CANAL SUPER3 (Spain)

Jury quote: “Very high impact, a good combination of social media, web and HbbTV.”

Best technology innovation in an HbbTV product or service

HbbTV is driving innovation in the industry. The Best Innovation Award recognises HbbTV based technology innovations of any kind. Entrants must demonstrate how the nominated innovation is unique and impactful. This award, in particular, is open to technical demonstration and prototypes.

The nominees are:

Tivù: tivùon! Operator Application [OpApp] (Italy)
CRTVE: España Directo Green Button (Spain)
ARD Play-Out-Center: Signing Livestream App / ARD (Germany)
Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) by Fraunhofer FOKUS: Cloud-based 360° Video Playout for HbbTV (Greece)

The winner is: ARD Play-Out-Center: Signing Livestream App / ARD (Germany)

Jury quote: “Great accessibility enhancement, well executed, with high social value.”

Best individual contribution to the HbbTV Association

HbbTV is founded and thrives on individual voluntary contributions from its members. The Best Contribution Award recognises an individual who has made the most significant contribution over the last year. The award is not open to individuals who currently represent their companies on the HbbTV steering board. Shortlisted nominees will be put to an open vote of the HbbTV membership.

The nominees are:

Rob Foreman, BBC: HbbTV test suite activity
Harald Molina-Tillmann, Freelancer: 10 years of contributions
Chris Poole, BBC: Contributor to the activities of the Specification Group
Mika Kanerva: Sofia Digital Ltd.: Work promoting HbbTV in the South-East Asia region

The winner is: Rob Foreman, BBC: HbbTV test suite activity

Jury quote: “Rob Foreman is one of the most significant contributors to the HbbTV test suite.”

Judges’ Grand Prix Prize winner

The winner is: Cellnex: LOVEStv (Spain)

Jury quote: “Transforms people’s viewing experience on a large scale.”

Runner-up winner: BT: Multi Screen MotoGP concept (UK)

Jury quote: “Praised for its innovation.”

Special Recommendation from the Judges

ARD Play-Out-Center: Signing Livestream App/ARD (Germany)

Jury quote: “This service had fantastic execution and solved a real problem in an innovative way.”

Judges

The nominees were judged by a panel of industry experts who selected the winners. Photos and names of the judges can be found at the end of this page.

The judges evaluated the entries based on execution, impact and innovation.

Ceremony

The prizes were awarded at a prestigious ceremony on November 14, 2018, part of the 7th HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2018.

During the call for entries for the HbbTV Awards 2018, a total of 48 submissions were received covering 36 services and 12 countries. The shortlists of finalists were put forward to an independent jury of industry experts which selected the winners. Details about this year’s jury members can be found here.

“Congratulations to the winners of the HbbTV Awards 2018! The jury has made an excellent choice, reflecting the variety, innovation and creativity of the entries,” said Vincent Grivet (TDF), Chair of the HbbTV Association. “The winning applications provide perfect examples of how broadcasters and platform operators can use HbbTV’s open specifications to offer the advanced hybrid services required to compete in today’s increasingly converged broadcast and broadband world.”

Judges

Giuseppe Aprea Director of Engineering, Kineton, and Board Member of the Ultra HD Forum Italia

Dr Andreas Bereczky Executive Vice President Production and Technology, ZDF German Television

Fabian Birgfeld CEO and Co-founder, W12 Studios

Robert Briel Owner and Co-founder, Broadband TV News

Hermann Dresen Editor, InfoDigital and Digitalmagazin

Dr Oliver Friedrich Strategic Partner Lead, Broadcast & Entertainment, Google

Vincent Grivet VP Broadcast Development at TDF and Chairman of the HbbTV Association

Olivia May Head of Product at Freeview Play, Digital UK

Liz Ross CEO, Freeview Australia

Juergen Sewczyk Senior Advisor, Eutelsat, and Head of Smart Media Working Group of Deutsche TV-Platform

Awards

Categories

Nominees & Winners

Best use of HbbTV for advertising and promotion

The winner is: Admeira AG: OK Button: Dialogue Case (Switzerland)

Best use of HbbTV for broadcast enhancement

The winner is: Channel One: HbbTV voting services for: “Voice”, “Who wants to be a millionaire” and “Let’s get married” (Russia)