Rai given special award as Eutelsat hails year of UHD

Rai was recognised with a special award for its pioneering work in 4K at Friday’s Eutelsat TV Awards in Rome as the satellite operator hailed 2015 as “the year of UHD”.

Italy’s national public broadcaster was recognised for forging a path in 4K with two original co-productions – La Bohème, a co-production by RAI-COM/DBW Communication and Rossini, by Lina Wertmüller, a co-production by RAI Strategie Tecnologiche.

At the event, Eutelsat deputy CEO and chief commercial officer Michel Azibert said that “2015 will be the year of this new technology”.

Azibert said that TV sets were now becoming available at prices of under €1,000 for the cheaper sets and new channels and VoD services were emerging.

“All the standardisation is pretty much achieved. It will be a new technology where satellite will play a dominant role,” said Azibert. He said Eutelsat would help drive the process by reserving capacity for UHD services.

Other Eutelsat award winners included Mexico’s Canal Once, Euronews, Eurosport and MTV Live HD.
Newly launched channels awarded for quickly developing their identity included Turkey’s Moviemax Turk HD, while Russia’s Kinoklub, Italy’s DMAX and Rai Yoyo and Spiegel TV Wissen from Germany were recognised for high production standards and carving a clear and distinctive brand. Eurochannel took the People’s Choice Award that goes to the channel winning the highest number of votes from its fan base.

Deutsche Welle and Sky Atlantic HD were both recognised in the Best Programme category. Deutsche Welle took home the prize for non-fiction for The Highest Level. Sky Atlantic took home the Award for fiction for Gomorra.

Other winners included Telekom Austria Group, given a special award for its innovative approach to DTH broadcasting in Central Europe. Its white-label platform was launched first in Croatia via the Eutelsat 16A satellite.