ITV

Tag: Germany

  • MTV to celebrate anniversary of Live8 concert globally

    MTV to celebrate anniversary of Live8 concert globally

    MUMBAI: One year on from the historic Live8 concert, MTV Networks International is celebrating the first anniversary of the momentous music event by airing a new special this month called Live8: What A Difference A Day Made. This is being done through a partnership with Network Live. An estimated three billion people all from all over the world watched Live8, billed as the greatest show on earth, where the crème of the world’s music artists came together to perform with one message – make poverty history.

    MTV will premiere the 90-minute special reaching 480 million households around the world in major markets including US, Japan, UK, France, Germany and Latin America. In addition to providing viewers the chance to relive the music spectacular of Live8, Bob Geldof will introduce the programme by giving a retrospective on how far we have travelled since the historic event and why it’s important to remember one year later.

    The programme is a selection of highlights from most inspirational performances and presentations that took place across 10 cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Ontario, Toyko, Johannesburg, Philadelphia, Moscow and Edinburgh. Live8: What A Difference A Day Made relives the moments when U2, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Madonna, Youssou N’Dour and Dido, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Paul McCartney and others captured the hope and optimism of the world and rallied the crowds to fight against poverty in Africa and to lobby the G8 leaders to makes promises on debt relief, Aids drugs, trade tariffs and education.

    The special will air on MTV’s channels in the lead up the G8 Summit 2006 on 15 July in St Petersburg, Russia where G8 leaders are expected to discuss international issues such as global energy security, infectious diseases and education. Live8 was executive produced by Network Live CEO Kevin Wall.

    In 2005 in the week leading to the G8 Summit and Live8 concerts, UK Prime Minister and chair of the G8 summit Tony Blair and Live8’s leading force Bob Geldof took tough questions on African poverty, debt relief and US President George Bush’s policies on climate control from MTV viewers representing 24 countries around the world – including seven African nations.

  • Discovery to launch DMax channel in Germany

    Discovery to launch DMax channel in Germany

    MUMBAI: Discovery will launch DMax in Germany in September 2006 in place of XXP, a free-to-air channel that the company acquired earlier this year.

    The fact-based entertainment channel, DMax will focus on the lifestyles and interests of male viewers aged 20 – 49 and offers frank opinions, revealing insights and a fresh, thought-provoking perspective on contemporary life and the way we live today.

    The channel will deliver the inside track on everything that is important to a predominantly male audience and will offer a broad range of locally and internationally produced content encompassing investigative documentaries, popular science, lifestyle, talk shows, real-life human interest stories, motoring and outdoor activities. DMax will occupy a unique position within the German media landscape as the only mainstream free-to-air fact- based entertainment channel.

    Discovery Germany VP country manager Dr. Patrick Höerl said, “The launch of DMax represents a significant investment by Discovery to build a compelling free-to-air brand that serves an important and growing segment of the German television market. DMax will benefit from investment in content produced in Germany, a fortified technical infrastructure that extends the reach of the channel and increased marketing and programming staff.”

    A significant investment will be made in programming for DMax consisting of both local German commissions and local and international acquisitions. It is expected that approximately 70 per cent of 2006 programming budgets will be invested in local commissions. DMax currently has over 1,000 new programming hours scheduled from launch in September until the end of 2006.

    Discovery Germany VP ad sales Magnus Kastner says, “DMax has a unique and compelling channel proposition designed specifically to attract the young male audience advertisers want to reach. The fact-based programming provides advertisers with a contemporary and high-quality environment for their commercial messages.”

    At launch, DMax will reach approximately 27 million households. The channel can be viewed on both analogue and digital satellite 24 hours a day and has extensive reach across Germany’s cable networks. DMax will be managed out of Discovery’s German offices in Munich by a growing team of media professionals.

    Kastner joined Discovery Germany in May 2006 and is currently building a full-service advertising sales function for DMax, which will be comprised of more than 20 employees operating out of Munich.

  • Soccer World Cup viewing in Germany up 51 per cent

    Soccer World Cup viewing in Germany up 51 per cent

    MUMBAI: Soccer’s governing body Fifa’s marketing agency Infront has been collating data for television audiences for the ongoing 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany. And, it looks as if they are heading for the record books.

    It is clear that Germany’s quest for a fourth Fifa World Cup title has glued the host nation to the television, with viewing figures ‘at home’ up 51 per cent percent on average over the previous tournament in 2002.

    Meanwhile, from ‘overnight’ audience research in 45 key markets, a positive picture is emerging, with some surprising and significant trends. They are being collated by Sponsorship Intelligence, a UK-based research driven consultancy.

    Germany’s first four matches scored a combined TV audience on German public service broadcasters ZDF and ARD of 87.6 million, which gives an average of 21.9 million per match, according to data provided by Sponsorship Intelligence. This compares with an average 14.5 million viewers who followed each of the first four matches in 2002. It is also up on France 1998 – staged in Europe in the same time zone – which makes a fairer comparison.

    In 1998, the first four German games attracted a cumulative audience of 85.5 million, on average half a million viewers fewer per match than in 2006. Taking into consideration that huge public viewing is a feature of the 2006 event and not yet taken into account in these early figures, the total audience is likely to be much higher.

    In Berlin, for example, police estimated that up to one million fans converged on the official Fan Fest public viewing venue in front of the Brandenburger Tor on Saturday to watch the host nation beat Sweden for a quarterfinal berth.

    Also in Europe, the television rating for the live coverage of the Netherlands vs. Argentina match broadcast on NL2 was the highest of any broadcast so far. It achieved a rating of 52.5 per cent (TVR), an audience of 7.2 million viewers and a market share of 80.3 per cent.

    In England, 16.3 million UK television viewers watched England’s first “sudden death” match against Ecuador, broadcast live by the BBC. The figure equated to a 79 per cent audience share. The game was the second-highest-rated match of the World Cup thus far in the UK after ITV’s coverage of the England vs. Sweden tie last Tuesday, which averaged 18.8 million viewers and peaked at 20.9 million.

    Elsewhere, the international appeal of the tournament was illustrated by the fact that more people in China tuned into the England vs. Paraguay game than the entire populations of England and Paraguay. The match was broadcast in China on CCTV-5 at 9 pm in the evening, attracting 62.9 million viewers, with 22.3 per cent of China’s television viewers at that time choosing to watch the match.

    In South Korea, the France vs. Korean Republic match was watched by 11.2 million in Korea, a TVR of 24.9 per cent, which is good considering the match was shown at 4 am. The rating is only 7.3 points behind the rating of 32.2 per cent by TF1 in France.

    Brazil’s two opening matches attracted 60.5 million and 54.5 million respectively, both achieving a market share in the region of 90 per cent. The audience for Brazil’s match against Croatia was only 0.4 rating points short of the audience of 2002’s final match.

    16.8 million Argentinean viewers watched the Argentina vs. Ivory Coast game, a market share of 93.6 per cent.

    In the US, the Argentina-Mexico match broadcast on Univision was the most-watched sports telecast in the history of US Spanish-language television, with an average of 6.7 million viewers.

  • Visits grow for Fifa fan fest venues

    Visits grow for Fifa fan fest venues

    MUMBAI: Since the 2006 soccer World Cup began on 9 June, around 11 million fans have celebrated at the official ‘Fan Fest’ sites in Germany in a peaceful, joyful and colourful manner and in keeping with the official slogan, A Time to Make Friends.

    Football’s governing body Fifa says that the popularity of the Fan Fest sites in all 12 host cities has exceeded its expectations. Fifa president Joseph S. Blatter says, “We thought that around eight million fans would turn up over the course of the tournament, but that mark was easily surpassed at the halfway point. The host cities and Fifa wanted to do something for the fans without tickets.

    “I can only congratulate the 12 host cities on these wonderful Fan Fest parties, which have taken the authentic stadium atmosphere into the city centres. The 18th Fifa World Cup will long be remembered for the unique sense of excitement and passion it has generated”.

    Prime sites in the 12 host cities were chosen as “second venues” in the official World Cup design. Entry into the Fan Fest sites is free of charge, and as well as broadcasting all matches live on giant screens, the Fan Fest sites offer various other events that differ from region to region.

    Berlin World Cup office head Jürgen Kiessling says, “Happiness has spread throughout the 12 host cities. We never expected such a sensational response. The whole world has seen some fantastic images from the host cities, which have joined together in this way for the first ever time, and with FIFA, they have created something unique.”

    So far, 5,500 national and international media representatives have reported on the Fan Fest sites, with some TV channels as well as official German broadcaster ARD often reporting live from the sites themselves.

    The Fan Fest system was developed by the 12 host cities and Fifa with the support of the local organising committee over a period of two years, thereby creating the biggest ever football party in Germany. The Fan Fest parties are organised by the cities themselves, together with regional organisers whose untiring efforts have helped to make them such a huge success.

    Fifa is responsible for coordinating the entire operation, as well as for providing the basic infrastructure such as the giant screens, stages, sound, lighting and decoration of a total of 20,000 square metres in the official World Cup design. The Fan Fest system has received financial support from four Fifa partners: Coca-Cola, Hyundai, MasterCard and Toshiba.

    Huge logistical operations have provided the foundations for the success. Around, 17,000 people have ensured that everything has run smoothly on the 14 stages and 34 giant screens, which have been provided by another FIFA Partner, Philips. Local authorities have developed comprehensive security measures, which have been implemented without any major incidents.

    The local organising committee’s “Fan Embassies” also provide a first point of contact for the fans. TV rights holder Infront has provided the broadcasting licences free of charge. The biggest football party of all time is now ready for the second half.

  • Women increasingly tuning in to the soccer World Cup

    Women increasingly tuning in to the soccer World Cup

    MUMBAI: If you thought that only men follow soccer think again! Soccer’s governing body Infront’s governing body Infront has announced the results of a study that show that women are increasingly following the football World Cup.

    It thus reaches far beyond the traditional male football audience in its universal appeal.

    Almost four in 10 viewers are women. The figures reveal that an impressive 37 per cent of the global adult audience watching the Fifa World Cup are women. Sponsorship Intelligence, a UK-based research driven consultancy appointed by Infront Sports and Media and Fifa Marketing and TV, has thus farcollated overnight ratings in 44 markets globally.

    The audience in Argentina demonstrates the greatest equality – 50 per cent of the viewers are women. 44 per cent of Argebntian’s viewership during the 2002 World Cup were women. Indeed, evidence to date, suggests that the Fifa World Cup TV audiences in Latin America especially Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Mexico, are more gender-balanced than in many other parts of the globe.

    In Korean 45 per cent of viewers in this country are reportedly women. This trend continues across Asia with audiences in Singapore and Malaysia comprising 45 per cent and 41 per cent women respectively.

    Germany has experienced a 17.6% percentage upsurge in the number of women viewers since the 2002 Fifa World Cup (40 per cent versus 34 per cent) and the Netherlands (38 per cent ), Hungary (38 per cent) and Switzerland (37 per cent) also experienced substantial increases.

    The female viewership figures are higher for Portugal (43 per cent), Italy (42 per cent) and Serbia (40 per cent). Major football markets like the UK and Spain are not far behind, with 36 per cent of viewers being women. In France, the figure is 34 per cent.

    However in the Czech Republic and Greece the World Cup is mainly watched by men. 24 per cent of women watch the World cup in these two countries.

  • DAB Radio: A toy for the iPod GenX

    DAB Radio: A toy for the iPod GenX

    SINGAPORE: Radio as we know it, is soon going to be a thing of the past. With new and emerging technologies, radio is all set to get a face lift.

    Radio in Asia, is the most accessible of the media and what’s more… it’s free. There are a few key factors behind the success of analogue radio. It’s simple and user friendly, has a wide variety of content, it’s portable and mobile and has a broad audience appeal. But the big question is – Will analogue radio survive in a digital world? 

    The answer to that is anyone’s guess. The next generation of radio – Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) – is now vying for consumer attention.

    While DAB radio defines the next generation of radio receivers, it must cross the cultural divide first and gain consumer acceptance. The hurdle it faces are that users don’t want to move into new and unfamiliar technology and hence DAB Radio must offer much more than FM / AM. Also, incremental cost must be justified by content and new features and it has to change the way traditional radio is consumed. Perhaps, the most crucial thing is that DAB radio must offer more than just radio.

    Highlighting the key strengths of DAB, Frontier Silicon UK VP sales and marketing Steve Evans said, “DAB has better quality audio, is easy to tune in, has more channels, provides data services, has future proof technology and value added features. However, it is not just about high quality radio. Compared to conventional analogue radios, DAB has to be much more. Moreover, broadcasters can capitalise on the potential of DAB technology to transmit more attractive data services.” 

    “On the other hand,” Evans said, “Receiver manufacturers can develop receivers that enable the consumption of the services. However, there has to be cooperation between broadcasters and receiver manufacturers.”

    What’s more, DAB also enables EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) and allows the iPod generation to get their music, where they want it and when they want it. “EPG allows listeners to see what’s on now and for the next seven days, search programmes by genre, by time, and allows them to set advanced timer recordings. It also enables recording of programmes in real time or at a later date in the same way as a personal video recorder (PVR) apart from enhancing the user’s radio listening experience,” Evans said. 

    Another important feature of DAB is that it gives the consumer the ability to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and record live radio to variety of storage mediums. “This is a growing feature that is becoming synonymous with DAB digital radios. It works both on audio data and DLS text messages, however, small incremental price due to additional RAM memory required for rewind buffers,” said Evans. 

    DAB’s Dynamic Label Segment also allows broadcasters to send text information and control characters along with the audio service. The text can be used to provide more information about the station and also to increase advertising revenue for the broadcasters. Apart from this, a Slide Show feature in DAB allows broadcasters to send a sequence of images (JPG/BMP) associated with tracks being played. “Visual along with audio would greatly help radio advertisers to increase advertising revenue and is already being trialled by numerous broadcasters,” Evans said. 

    Additionally, content can also be repurposed for different delivery platforms. Evans said, “DAB is an ideal transport channel for web site content to be delivered to users using the DAB BWS user application. Broadcast Website (BWS) allows DAB multiplex operators to use the internet as source content and deliver an entire web site to a DAB receiver using only the broadcast channel of DAB. Content on the web site can be used to promote the broadcaster and provide interactivity to the consumer.” 

    Another aspects of DAB is that it enables mobile digital TV by using T-DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast). “DAB can act as a transport mechanism to deliver video to receivers and has the capability to deliver video up to 1.5Mbps. It also enables the long awaited mobile TV deployment using broadcast technology, rather than cellular based point-to-point service, which has traffic handling limitations,” Evans said.

    T-DMB services have already commercially launched in Korea, China and very recently in Germany.

    However, these data services are useless unless suitable receivers are introduced into the market. DAB receivers should:

    • Present the data in a ‘usable’ and ‘attractive’ manner
    • Low power consumption to ensure long battery life
    • Low cost to promote mass market uptake
    • Easy integration to enable more manufacturers
    • Sufficient processing power to cope of datacast decoding 
    • Programmable to cope with changing standards

    The key features of Next Generation radios include:

    • Large display to show more contents
    • Built-in memory for data caching applications (pause/rewind)
    • Support for external memory plugin to read audio files (USB host/slave)
    • Support for Firmware Upgrade (USB) to cope with changing standards 
    • Applications including DAB, FM, Audio decoders, Picture/Video decoders, PVR like capability

  • Discovery launches broadband channel in Germany

    Discovery launches broadband channel in Germany

    MUMBAI: US media firm Discovery has launched Discovery Broadband in Germany. It is now available at www.discoverybroadband.de.

    Discovery Broadband is a subscription service offering access to programming from Discovery via broadband. Focussed on core Discovery genres including animals, machines, engineering, science, history, real life and travel, a full range of content is available to view online.

    This includes shows such as American Chopper, Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch and Conspiracies on Trial. At launch, Discovery Broadband in Germany will offer more than 40 hours of fully languaged programming for broadband consumers to enjoy at their convenience.

    Approximately 10 hours of additional content will be added to the service each month in order to offer enhanced choice each month and build an extensive, wide-ranging library for subscribers to the service.

    Discovery Networks in Germany VP and country manager Dr. Patrick Hörl says, “The launch of Discovery Broadband in Germany underscores our commitment to extend the company’s quality content across multiple media platforms in order to provide increased flexibility, convenience and control to consumers”.

    Discovery Broadband is available to consumers on a monthly or annual subscription basis at a cost of €5 and €50 respectively. Consumers can also access individual programmes for 24 hours on a pay-per-view basis for a fee of €1 or €2 based on the duration of the content. A free one-week trial of the service will be available at launch.

    With a total of more than 12 million broadband subscribers, Germany is currently the largest broadband market in Europe and also one of the top five broadband markets in the world (Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, June 2006).

    To access the range of programming available on the Discovery Broadband site, consumers simply register their details at www.discoverybroadband.de to open an online BT click and buy account and will then receive a username and password for continued account access.

    Discovery Broadband is also available in Europe in the UK, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

  • Viewership of Fifa World Cup in Europe beats expectations

    Viewership of Fifa World Cup in Europe beats expectations

    MUMBAI: Since kicking off last Friday 9 June, the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany has received a strong response not just in terms of stadium attendance but also in terms of television viewership in Europe.

    Initial viewing figures have been provided by football governing body Fifa’s and Infront’s research agency Sponsorship Intelligence, from the first three days of play.

    In Germany, the ZDF coverage of the tournament’s opening game featuring the host nation was watched by 20.13 million, a market share of 76 per cent. It was the most viewed Fifa World Cup opening match in history of German television.

    England’s opening match against Paraguay reached 84 per cent market share in the UK. 12 million people tuning in BBC One’s coverage, which matched the average for England’s group stage games in 2002. This rating does not include the out-of-home viewing television audience, which is expected to be significant due to the air time of this match which was on Saturday 10 June at 2 pm.

    Even countries that were not playing in the time period when the ratings were taken have fared well on the television ratings front. A case in point is France. The first three games broadcast on TF1 have shown much improved ratings on average than all the games in 2002 not featuring France (12).

    Netherlands’s qualification for the 2006 event (the country failed to qualify in 2002) has helped boost the ratings in the country. Around 5.5 million fans watched the team beat Serbia-Montenegro on NL 2. The market share of 89.4 per cent, was well over half more than tuned into the 2002 final.

    In Poland, the audience for the game against Ecuador surpassed the 2002 top TVR which involved the final. Poland’s opening game got a TVR of 25.7 versus 25.3 for the 2002 Brazil versus Germany final. The match was covered by TVP 1.

    In Portugal the team’s efforts against Angola drew 2.9 million viewers (a market share of 81 per cent). This was over 30 per cent higher than the top rated audience four years ago. In Norway England’s game against Paraguay on TV 2 attracted a market share of 81 per cent .

    At the moment, the assessment of the viewing patterns is based on ‘overnights’ and audiences could be significantly higher once “out of home” viewing is added in to the total. This is likely to run at record levels for this World Cup, given the current public viewing trend and the effect of new media options.

    Infront Sports and Media will provide further summary highlights of television audience figures worldwide on a regular basis throughout the course of the tournament.

    The company is responsible for the worldwide marketing and sales of the broadcast rights to the 2006 Fifa World Cup. It has made the event more widely available than ever before. There are over 500 broadcasters covering the Fifa World Cup and coverage is being provided in virtually every country of the world.

  • Phillips, Yahoo survey reveals the passion of soccer fans

    Phillips, Yahoo survey reveals the passion of soccer fans

    MUMBAI: With the football World Cup gaining momentum in Germany Fifa partners Philips and Yahoo! conducted an Ultimate Football Fan Survey.

    The aim was to gain more insight into how fans enjoy and celebrate the game. The results include more than 4,500 respondents from nine countries, including World Cup hopefuls such as Brazil, Germany and The Netherlands, all of whom provided their feelings and perspective on a variety of topics ranging from what they would give up for a ticket to the Fifa World Cup to which team will triumph as the champion.

    What makes a great football fan? According to the survey, 44 per cent of respondents in Argentina and 41 per cent of respondents in the U.K. said that a true football fan is someone who will support his or her favorite team even during a losing season. Other markets differ in their view of what makes a football fan a fanatic, including 23 per cent of Brazilian respondents who will watch every game of the season and almost 24 per cent of Italian respondents who said that they will paint their body in national colors to gear up for the matches.

    The survey also probed into what fans would do for a ticket to the final, including selling their car or even giving up well-deserved vacation. Adding to the fervor, an average of 15 per cent of the global respondents claim to watch more than 31 hours of football a month, with 30 per cent of the fans in Argentina responding that they think about the World Cup ‘every waking moment’ when not watching the games.

    Football and technology: A true match both on and off the field

    With many fans dreaming of attending this high-profile sporting event in person, the majority of sports enthusiasts watch from the comfort of the couch. An average of 89 per cent of survey participants stated that they typically watch a football match at home versus an average of only 25 per cent who will attend the games in person.

    For the fans at home, Philips provides home entertainment products to ensure they are immersed in the game. More than 45 per cent of respondents in Argentina, Brazil, the U.K. and Spain agree that a new Flat TV would create the perfect World Cup M home viewing experience.

    35 per cent of fans in Mexico think that a DVD Recorder with Hard Disk would enhance the experience. Providing a colorful element to the entertainment experience, Philips’ says that its Ambilight FlatTVs are ideal for sports aficionados and design-discerning individuals alike. Philips’ Ambilight sets create a better perceived image and expand the viewing area to ensure fans catch all of the action on the field.

    Although there is a certain thrill to attending the game in person, sports enthusiasts believe watching the World Cup at home certainly has its advantages. 57 per cent of survey participants believe they are in a better position to make an important judgment call in front of their television versus a referee on the field.

    A true football fan will always remember those great moments of the game that make the World Cup an exciting and dramatic international sporting event in the world. The great moments are more than a memory to many fans thanks to some of the technology that has changed the game of football. More than 50 per cent of global survey respondents said that instant replay is the technology that has most influenced the game of football.

    When asked which team will be the most feared nearly 70 per cent of the survey respondents named Brazil, which was also named by more than half of the survey respondents as the clear favorite to win the World Cup. The rest of the world will also have their eyes set on the Brazilian team with 64 per cent of respondents outside of Brazil watching this exciting team during the World Cup.

    With Brazilian football star Ronaldinho, who was selected by nearly 62 per cent of the global respondents as the best player in the world today, it’s no surprise that Brazil is the clear favorite to win the World Cup.

    According to the survey, an average of 46 per cent of the global respondents believe that Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal in Mexico in 1986 was the greatest World Cup moment, while 26 per cent of the global respondents feel that Geoff Hurst’s hattrick was the best highlight in World Cup history.

    Keeping up with the FIFA World Cup™ away from home

    According to the survey, nearly 70 per cent of all respondents will follow their team’s progress on the Internet while away from the television; yet new technology allows fans to turn up their FIFA World Cup™ experience a notch further, even while at work or away from the computer.

    With time zones and work schedules posing a problem for the action, Philips DVD Recorders with Hard Disk enable sports enthusiasts around the world to control the game on their own terms, and never miss any of the action. Phillips says that its DVD Recorder with Hard Disk is the ultimate game and memory preserver, enabling users to record the game directly onto a DVD or preserve it on the unit’s hard disk drive.

    This survey was commissioned by Philips and fielded to more than 4,500 respondents throughout Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, The U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Spain and The Netherlands via the Yahoo! global network. The survey focussed on both male and female respondents over the age of 18 with at least one television in their home.

  • Scorcese film on Dylan takes grand prize at Banff World Television Awards

    Scorcese film on Dylan takes grand prize at Banff World Television Awards

    MUMBAI: As part of the Annual Banff World Television Festival being held this year from 11 to 14 June, the 27th Annual Banff World Television Awards have announced its winners. In the Grand Prize category, Martin Scorsese’s film, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan walked away with the award.

    The Banff International Jury met prior to the Festival to screen the 18 “Best-of” category winners to decide the Grand Prize winner. This category represents countries from around the world including Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    “The International Jury was proud to be able to choose a Grand Prize Winner from such an illustrious slate,” said Jury Chair, Loren Mawhinney. “All members of the jury felt privileged to be given both this responsibility and this opportunity to screen such wonderful television.”

    The NHK President’s Prize which recognizes excellence in the HDTV industry, was handed out to Queen of Trees. In addition, Y in Vyborg and The Rise and Fall of the Russian Oligarchs took home the Rockie Awards, which were the Special Jury Prizes. An official release stated that 2006 saw the largest number of entries submitted over the past five years. Awards were handed out in a variety of categories with 15 different countries taking home the honours.

    The list of the winners for the 27th Annual Banff World Television Award are as follows:

    Grand Prize
    No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
    Broadcaster: PBS, USA.

    Special Jury Prize
    Y in Vyborg
    Broadcaster: YLE Teema, Finland.

    Special Jury Prize
    The Rise and Fall of the Russian Oligarchs
    Broadcaster: ARTE, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Canada, The Netherlands, Finland.

    NHK President’s Prize
    The Queen of Trees
    Broadcaster: BBC TWO, Kenya, Japan, USA, UK, Germany.

    Category: Animation Program
    Jane and the Dragon: Shall We Dance
    Broadcaster: YTV, Canada, New Zealand.

    Category: Arts Documentary
    No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
    Broadcaster: PBS, USA.

    Category: Children’s Program
    Odd one out: Very normal, really
    Broadcaster: Z@ppelin Channel 3, The Netherlands.

    Category: Comedy
    Extras: Kate Winslet
    Broadcaster: BBC TWO, UK.

    Category: Continuing Series
    Life on Mars
    Broadcaster: BBC, UK.

    Category: Family & Youth Program
    The Hobart Shakespeareans
    Broadcaster: PBS, USA.

    Category: Feature Length Documentaries
    White Platoon, Baghdad 2004
    Broadcaster: France 2, France, Belgium.

    Category: History & Biography Program
    Speer und Er (Speer & Hitler): The Devil’s Architect
    Broadcaster: ARD, Germany.

    Category: Information – Current Affairs
    Mischief: A Dirty Weekend in Hospital
    Broadcaster: BBC THREE, UK.

    Category: Interactive
    ReGenesis II: Extended Reality Game
    Broadcaster: The Movie Network and Movie Central, Canada.

    Category: Lifestyle Programs
    Jamie’s School Dinners
    Broadcaster: Channel 4, UK.

    Category: Made for TV Movie
    Maria’s Last Journey
    Broadcaster: German Television 1 Channel, Germany.

    Category: Mini-Series
    Bleak House
    Broadcaster: BBC ONE, UK, USA.

    Category: Performance Program
    Enough Rope
    Broadcaster: SVT (Sveriges Television), Sweden.

    Category: Popular Science & Natural History Programs
    The Cyborg Revolution
    Broadcaster: NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Japan.

    Category: Social & Political Documentary
    Children of Beslan
    Broadcaster: BBC TV, UK, USA.

    Category: Sports Program
    Viva Baseball
    Broadcaster: Spike TV, USA, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico.

    Category: Unscripted Entertainment Programs
    Young Black Farmers
    Broadcaster: Channel 4, UK.