The HbbTV Association has announced that the jury has been appointed for the HbbTV Awards 2018.
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, Co-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; and 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.