The Royal Television Society (RTS) has launched the first regional RTS Programme Awards for Northern Ireland which will take place on 5th November, 2015 coinciding with the annual Belfast Media Festival.

 

Considered to be the gold standard of achievement in the television community, the RTS Programme Awards will recognise the work of exceptional production teams through their various programmes. Spanning all genres of television programming the Northern Ireland regional awards represent a new opportunity to celebrate the wealth of local talent and creativity on home ground, at a time when the local TV and film production industry has never been stronger.

 

Michael Wilson, the RTS Northern Ireland Chair and Managing Director of UTV said: “The RTS Programme Awards have long been recognised as a symbol of excellence within the TV industry and are highly prized by those who enter and those who win. Building on the considerable international critical acclaim recently enjoyed by Northern Ireland TV production talent, which has included strong contributions to recent success at the BAFTAs, Broadcast Awards and Emmys, through these regional awards, we are creating a new platform to celebrate the achievements of the local industry and to showcase the best talent from Northern Ireland.”

 

The RTS has partnered with BBC Northern Ireland, Channel 4, Northern Ireland Screen and UTV to stage its inaugural Programme Awards for Northern Ireland.

 

Kieran Doherty, RTS NI Awards Committee Chair and Managing Director of local TV production company Stellify Media added: “I am thrilled that the RTS will highlight the extraordinary quality and diversity of work being produced across Northern Ireland.  The timing to coincide with the Belfast Media Festival will ensure a fantastic evening of regional celebration among some of the international industry’s biggest names; recognising the craft and production skills that NI now regularly contributes to today’s television schedules.

 

“In recent years, Northern Ireland has established itself as an exciting new centre of creativity. Highlights have included – The Fall, a record breaker for BBC and Netflix; Waddell Media’s The Secret World of Lego achieving the highest ratings for a single documentary on Channel 4 this year; DoubleBand’s critically acclaimed Road; Sixteen South’s Broadcast Award for Lily’s Diftwood Bay and of course Game of Thrones, the most talked about TV show in the world.” 

 

The RTS is inviting applications from individuals, broadcasters and companies based in or working in Northern Ireland to enter the awards. To qualify for entry, submissions must have first aired between 1 January 2014 and 31 May 2015. Deadline for applications is Wednesday 16th September and further details can be found on https://rts.org.uk/region/northern-ireland/awards  Entry to the awards will also include one free membership to the RTS for one year. 

 

The award categories are as follows:

 

 

 

Programme Categories

1.            Comedy and Entertainment           

2.            Factual Series           

3.            Single Documentary           

4.            Current Affairs           

5.            News Coverage           

6.            Drama           

7.            Children’s and/or Animation           

8.            International Production

 

Portfolio Awards           

9.            Craft and Innovation           

10.            RTS NI Judges’ Award

 

The NI RTS Centre will recognise an outstanding, long-term contribution to the industry by an individual or company by awarding the Judges’ Award.

 

Judging in each category will be carried out independently by an experienced international jury, with the winners being announced at the special awards night at the MAC alongside the Belfast Media Festival on 5th November.