‘Gogglebox Australia’
Essential Media’s Body Hack 3.0, Screentime’s Anh’s Brush with Fame, Roving Enterprises’ The Project and Endemol Shine Australia’s Gogglebox Australia and Married at First Sight will be eligible to win one of three new awards at this year’s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards.
The organisation is adding the categories Best Factual Entertainment, Best Sports Entertainment and Best Sports Coverage to recognise innovation and excellence in these production genres.
According to AACTA, the Factual Entertainment Award is open to non-fiction programs that entertain, explore the real world and its people, inspire cultural conversations and don’t involve competing for prizes.
Shows such as Googlebox and Married at First Sight were eligible for Best Reality Program, a category which continues and has been dominated by the likes of MasterChef Australia and Australian Survivor. The Best Lifestyle Program category also continues.
Best Sports Entertainment acknowledges one of TV’s most popular genres. AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella estimates there are more than 40 shows of this type on free-to-air, cable and online, including Fox Footy’s AFL 360 and On the Couch, the Seven Network’s The Front Bar and Optus’ Optus Sports Originals.
That and the Best Sports Coverage replace the AACTA Subscription Television Award for Best Sports Presentation which was awarded last year.
The nominees and winners for each new category will be determined by the respective AACTA television branches.
“The past 20 years have seen a shift in the Australian television landscape with factual entertainment programs such as Gogglebox and Married at First Sight alongside sports broadcasting regularly creating major spikes in television viewing patterns,” Trewhella said.
“This is a big growth area. There is some great work and innovation. We are proud to introduce these awards to recognise the talent, skill and creativity of the practitioners working in these important sectors.
“In addition to our recently announced Short Documentary category and reduced entry fees for low-budget productions, these new awards continue AACTA’s mission to be inclusive of all the diverse areas critical to our screen industry and culture.”
Entries for all TV categories opened today. Other entry dates:
• Feature Film, May 1 -July 1
• Feature Documentary, May 1-27
• Short Documentary, May 1-27
• Television, May 28 -July 22
• Visual Effects and Animation, June 18 – August 30
Further information can be found here.