September 27, 2018

Jury for HbbTV Awards 2018 announced

Geneva, September 27, 2018 – The HbbTV Association, a global initiative dedicated to providing an open standard for the delivery of broadcast and broadband services through connected TVs and set-top boxes, is proud to announce that the jury has been appointed for the HbbTV Awards 2018, showcasing and celebrating excellence in the HbbTV community.

The jury members are:

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

“We are excited about the respected industry experts who have agreed to be part of the jury, resembling a high level of expertise. The great interest in the HbbTV Awards 2018 following the opening of entries confirms the industry’s strong commitment to the HbbTV specifications in today’s world of advanced multimedia platforms,” said Vincent Grivet (TDF), Chair of the HbbTV Association.

The HbbTV Awards 2018 are still open for entries. The providers of HbbTV applications are welcome to submit their entries through an online form via the HbbTV Association website; the website also details the terms and conditions of the free competition.

The award categories for 2018 are:

• Best use of HbbTV for advertising and promotion
  • Best use of HbbTV for broadcast enhancement
  • Best multiscreen HbbTV service
  • Best use of HbbTV for content discovery (VOD and Guides)
  • Best marketing or promotion of an HbbTV-based service
  • Best technology innovation in an HbbTV product or service
  • Best individual contribution to the HbbTV Association

A Judges Grand Prix award will also be selected from across the categories.

Last year’s HbbTV Awards winners include Digital UK, Freeview Australia, Media Broadcast, R2B2, rbb (ARD), Thi Thanh Van Nguyen (Samsung R&D), Tivù and Vewd.

The closing date for submission is October 5, 2018. A shortlist of finalists will be put forward to the jury selecting the winners. The finalists will be announced by October 23, 2018.

The prizes will be awarded at a prestigious ceremony on November 14, 2018. The ceremony forms part of the 7th HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2018, taking place on November 14-15, 2018 in Berlin. All finalists are invited to attend the awards ceremony.

About the HbbTV Association

Hybrid broadcast broadband TV (or “HbbTV”) is a global initiative aimed at harmonizing the broadcast and broadband delivery of entertainment services to consumers through connected TVs, set-top boxes and multiscreen devices. The HbbTV specification is developed by industry leaders to improve the video user experience for consumers by enabling innovative, interactive services over networks. The specification uses elements of existing specifications from other standards including OIPF, CEA, DVB, MPEG-DASH and W3C. With the incorporation of activities from the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) in 2014 and Smart TV Alliance in 2016, HbbTV is able to address service providers and technology suppliers for IPTV services as well as the combined scope of broadcast and over-the-top services.

This year, the 7th HbbTV Symposium and Awards will take place on November 14-15 in Berlin. Registration is possible here. The Symposium is in collaboration with Deutsche TV-Plattform and the overall theme is “Growing Value Through HbbTV“. More information: https://www.hbbtv.org/news-events/hbbtv-symposium-and-awards/

Contact HbbTV Association:
Heinrich E. Haase
Project Coordinator HbbTV Association
email: heinrich.haase@htbc.de
Tel: +49 160 96 25 37 92

Press Contacts:
Thomas Fuchs
Fuchs Media Consult GmbH
email: tfuchs@fuchsmc.com
Tel: +49 171 4483 168

Holger Crump
Fuchs Media Consult GmbH
email: hcrump@fuchsmc.com
Tel: +49 151 401 404 93