Press release from SBS
SBS’s interactive digital radio station SBS PopAsia, coverage of the 2011 Tour de France opening, and Michelle Lovegrove host of the Living Black radio program, have all been honoured at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Broadcast Union (ABU) Award ceremony in Seoul, Korea overnight.
SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said: “The success of SBS at the ABU Awards is international recognition for the innovative content we are delivering across all platforms and genres. From the talent of our Indigenous team, the hugely popular and growing SBS PopAsia to our coverage of the world’s pinnacle cycling event, SBS is delivering a deeper and richer experience for audiences on the platforms we know they want to use. It’s great to see our achievements recognised at these esteemed awards.”
The finalists were chosen from 166 television and 76 radio entries from 18 countries and 25 organisations.
SBS PopAsia won for Best Interactive Radio Program and host Jamaica dela Cruz was in Seoul to accept the award. This award follows on from the recent success of the program reaching a record 316,602 mobile stream requests last month.
Jamaica was also in Seoul to host the ABU TV Song Festival which showcases each broadcast member nations’ best pop talent and features DJ Havana Brown from Australia. SBS will be broadcasting the Asia Pacific TV Song Festival on Sunday October 28, 9.30pm on SBS ONE.
Since its launch SBS PopAsia has become the home of Asian music in Australia. It hosts 10 hours of live radio each week, 24/7 online streaming at sbs.com.au/popasia, two weekly television programs, a mobile app, a dedicated YouTube channel, and has more than 46,000 active online fans. SBS PopAsia is truly interactive available anytime, anywhere and on any device.
SBS’s 2011 Tour de France Opener also won an award for the TV Sports Category. Produced by Stuart Randall and edited by Mark Falahey, it captured the excitement, anticipation and drama of the world’s biggest annual sports event.
“SBS prides itself on producing world-class sports coverage and we are proud to accept this award from the ABU in recognition of the quality of the 2011 Tour de France opening title sequence,” said Ken Shipp, Head of Sport, SBS.
Living Black radio host Michelle Lovegrove the voice of many Indigenous stories across Australia, was also awarded for Best On-Air radio personality at the ceremony.
Mandi Wicks, Director of Audio and Language content said: “The award is a wonderful recognition of Michelle’s dedication to covering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and her passion for indigenous culture and the stories of the first Australians.”
The ABU is a non-profit, non-government, professional association that assists with the development of broadcasting in the region. It has more than 220 member broadcasters large and small spread across the region’s 58 countries. The ABU Awards recognise the broadcast achievements of these countries.