Content Innovation Awards 2017: the winners revealed

Content Innovation Awards 2017 winners

YouView, Vice Media, National Geographic Europe, DAZN, Starz Play, Sky Italia and Orange were among the winners at the third annual Content Innovation Awards held in Cannes last night, just ahead of the MIPCOM TV market.

Over 200 people gathered in the Grand Salon of the Carlton Hotel to see 22 awards handed out to content producers, broadcasters, platform operators and technology companies that have excelled in innovation over the past year.

YouView took the prize for Advanced TV Innovation of the Year, while Vice Media won the prize for Best New Venture for its Viceland International channel.

National Geographic took home two awards, for Best Series Launch of the Year for Mars, and for Factual TV Project of the Year for Before the Flood.

Sports OTT TV service DAZN and Middle East SVOD service Starz Play meanwhile shared the honours in the OTT TV Service of the Year category.

Sky Italia and Orange took the two prizes for innovation in the emerging field of virtual reality, the former winning the Virtual Reality Initiative prize for The Sistine Chapel – an incredible VR experience, while the latter took the Virtual Reality Sports Experience prize for Holotennis.

The awards were hosted by novelist, musician, journalist and radio presenter Clemency Burton-Hill alongside Digital TV Europe editor Stuart Thomson and TBI Editor Jesse Whittock.

The full list of winners is presented below:

Advanced TV Innovation of the Year

Winner: YouView TV for YouView

Best Distribution Initiative

Winner: ChannelSculptor for MENA.TV Content Hub

Best New Venture

Winner: VICE Media for VICELAND INTERNATIONAL

Best Series Launch of the Year

Winner: National Geographic Europe for Mars

Breakout International Drama

Winner: ITV Studios Global Entertainment for Victoria

Channel of the Year

Winner: VICE Media for VICELAND UK

Consumer Premises Equipment Innovation of the Year

Winner: Netgem for SoundBox

Entertainment Format of the Year

Winner: ITV Studios Global Entertainment for Love Island

Factual TV Project of the Year

Winner: National Geographic Europe for Before The Flood

Next Gen Advertising Award

Winner: BT Sport and Yospace for Dynamic Ad Insertion for BT Sport

OTT TV Service of the Year

Winners: DAZN and STARZ PLAY

OTT TV Technology of the Year

Winner: IBM for Content Enrichment

The Multiscreen TV Award

Winner: ACCESS for ACCESS Twine for Reliance Jio Infocomm’s Jio Lifestyle

The Social Engagement Award

Winner: BBC Drama for Sherlock Live

The UX Award

Winner: TiVo for Conversation Services

The YouTube Award

Winner: Barcroft Media for Barcroft TV

TV Service Innovation of the Year

Winner: Conviva for Precision

UHD Initiative of the Year

Winner: CC-Lab for Isle of Wight Festival 2017

Virtual Reality Initiative

Winner: Sky Italia for The Sistine Chapel – an incredible VR experience

Virtual Reality Sports Experience

Winner: Orange for Holotennis

Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Christina Jennings, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Shaftesbury

International Content Leader of the Year

Winner: Cathy Payne, Chief Executive Officer, Endemol Shine International