The IBC Innovation Award-winners will be announced at the IBC 2019 Awards Ceremony, scheduled for Sunday, September 15, at 6:30 p.m in Amsterdam.
IBC has announced the 10 finalists for its 2019 Innovation Awards, which will be announced during IBC 2019 in Amsterdam this September.
The IBC Innovation Awards aim to recognize technical excellence and cutting-edge technology in the media and entertainment industry.
They are not awarded to products, but to applications that make innovative use of new technology.
Although we never look for a theme in our list of finalists, the shortlist usually reflects the wider industry, said Michael Lumley, chair of the Innovation Awards judging panel.
This year you can definitely see that there are a number of projects which are global in their scale and which use new opportunities in connectivity to bring us astounding images, whether that is capturing life under the sea or the excitement of sports.
Finalists were announced in three categories. In Content Creation, the four finalists include Fox Sports Nascar augmented reality studio; Riot Games League of Legends World Championships in Seoul, which were remotely produced in L.A.; SailGP and Timeline Television for SailGP, a remotely produced global sailing championship; and Vodafone Romania for a holographic projection system that used a 5G remote link to allow an 11-year-old guitarist to seem to be performing on stage with a band.
In Content Distribution, the three finalists include the Associated Press, for a system using lasers to transmit video through open water from depths of 200m; BT Sport for its demonstration of the use of 5G technology in remote production, and Copa90 for its global social media fan engagement program tied to the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
Finally, the three finalists in IBCs Content Everywhere category are Deutsche Telekom, for a 6K 360-degree immersive video service; Indias ETV Bharat for a news production and playout platform serving 5,000 journalists and 24 OTT channels; and Mediapros delivery of matches and other content from LaLiga Spanish football via Facebook Watch on the Indian subcontinent.
Anil Wanvari, Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of indiantelevision.com commented: The chance to sit with a group from America, the Middle East and Europe to discuss, debate and explore this extensive list of entries was very exciting.
What struck me most, as a first-time judge, is that the entries come from all around the world, each bringing its own unique take on how to engage with audiences today, Wanvari added.
Agreeing a shortlist of just 10 was really difficult. There were some ground-breaking projects which have achieved great things but did not quite make it in a remarkable year for this competition.
While the shortlist has been announced, the identity of the winners remains a closely guarded secret until the IBC2019 Awards Ceremony, held at 18:30 on Sunday 15 September.
This year IBC is introducing two new awards: the Young Pioneer Award, recognising rising talent in our industry, and the Social Impact Award, recognising those making a positive impact in the wider world. The winners of all these awards and IBCs highest accolade, the International Honour for Excellence, will be announced at the IBC Awards Ceremony.
