Scandanavia led the International Emmy Awards at a ceremony held in Cannes in the south of France as part of the MIPV and MILIA convention. The award for best interactive channel went to a project from the United Kingdom. For once, industry leaders BSkyB and the BBC went away empty handed.
Staraoke, a children’s television show from Intervisio in Finland, won the award for interactive programme. It combines a television show with a karaoke-style computer game and a web community. Children are invited to download the application, record their performance and send it in to the show, with one in three competitors chosen from the online submissions. Other entries in this category came from Belgium, Spain and Canada.
The Truth About Marika, a participation drama on Swedish television produced by The Company P, received the award for interactive television service. The storyline unfolds through television, radio, online and mobile elements. Each week a live television show discusses theories about Marika based on input from users. Also nominated in this category were Doctor Who Interactive, Spooks Interactive, and Emmerdale.
WeDigTV received the award for interactive channel. An online service conceived by London based independent production company the JD Project, it delivers video over broadband to provide the impression of immersive interactivity through seamless sequences of clips. It faced competition in this category from the BBC, BSkyB, and Bigpond, the broadband division of Telstra in Australia.
“This year’s winners are an illustration of how technology is enhancing viewer participation and bringing an added value to television content,” said Bruce Paisner, the president and chief executive of The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The awards ceremony and dinner was attended by over 150 international executives from the television, broadband and mobile industries.
Content 360
The winners of the BBC categories in the separate Content 360 commissioning competition were all from the United Kingdom. Shoal Media, Bellyfeel, Twentysix Leeds and Numiko will all receive £15,000 development contracts with the BBC.
Other categories, supported by the Korean Broadcasting and Communications Commision, the National Film Board of Canada and OgilvyInteractive, went to Metadigita from the UK and projects from Korea, South Africa and Australia.