The International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) has unveiled the winners of its prestigious awards in 2023, celebrating outstanding achievements in the field of media, broadcasting, and innovation. The EBU is among the recipients of two of the awards.
Changemaker Award Winner: Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest, which is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and was hosted by the BBC on behalf of Ukraine's UA:PBC in 2023, has been awarded the 2023 Changemaker Award as part of IBC's Social Impact Awards. The selecting committee cites ESC’s exceptional contribution to society and culture among it reasons, saying that the Eurovision Song Contest has consistently maintained its relevance and global popularity and become a multifaceted cultural phenomenon over the years.
Watched on five continents, the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest drew an astounding 162 million TV viewers across its three live shows, and millions more engaged on its digital platforms, showcasing its growing worldwide appeal.
The award ceremony will feature Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, who will accept the honor and discuss the event's impact on live broadcasting, at the Social Impact Awards ceremony on Sunday, 17 September, at 16:30 CEST in The Forum.
Special Award for Innovation Winner: German DVB-I Pilot
The 2023 IBC Special Award for Innovation goes to the German DVB-I Pilot project, a colaboration that was initiated by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and that unites various stakeholders from the media industry, including the EBU. The Award recognizes the project's advances in establishing a practical solution that can combine existing broadcast and over-the-top services into a unified experience on common smart TV platforms.
The project involves broadcasters, device manufacturers, software providers, and research institutions. The IBC Award honours the project participants at the time of nomination, which were: ARD, Bayerische Medien Technik GmbH, Dolby Laboratories, DVB Project, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Fraunhofer FOKUS, LG, Media Broadcast, MIT-xperts, ProSiebenSat.1 Media, OnScreen Publishing, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), RTL Deutschland, SES, Sofia Digital, Sony Corporation, TARA Systems, TP Vision, Vestel, WDR, and ZDF.
The award will be presented at the IBC Innovation Awards ceremony held in IBC's Premier Lounge on Sunday, 17 September, at 18:00 CEST.
Best Technical Paper Winner: BBC's 5G Standalone Non-Public Network
The EBU’s congratulations also go to EBU-Member organization BBC, for receiving the IBC 2023 Best Technical Paper Award. The paper delves into the details of the 5G standalone non-public network deployed during King Charles III's coronation, a project that drew on years of collaborative work and demonstrated the viability of fleshed-out 5G technology for media production. Earlier in the year, this BBC project also earned the EBU Technology & Innovation Award 2023.