Its emotional range of passion and pain, joy and sadness was enough match any scripted drama
This was an outstanding year for sport and an even better one for Sky Sports Main Event, which combined best-in-class coverage with perfectly pitched tone. Its emotional range of passion and pain, joy and sadness was enough match any scripted drama.
NFL, boxing, golf, and Formula 1 were covered from Sky’s ‘super studio’ for the first-time, which makes use vast numbers of LED panels, a VR processing platform, immersive AR graphics, 15 real time engines, and plenty more besides.
But to focus too much on technical innovation is to overlook Sky Sports Main Event’s editorial expertise.
Take its outstanding cricket coverage, which included emotional scenes that celebrated the achievements and retirement of James Anderson and poignantly marked the death by suicide of Graham Thorpe. Or its F1 on-board cameras, complete with never-before-heard team audio. The coverage is enhanced, but the storytelling and proximity to the drivers goes to another level.
The broadcaster is the UK’s leading investor in women’s sport, its digital operations provide depth to the tune of 1.5 billion You Tube views and 1 million daily users of the Sky Sports app, and it has ramped up its football coverage with many more games via the Sky Sports+
Sky has managed to introduce a greater variety programming that appeals to different or younger audiences – see the shortlisted Sky Sports Scenes, featuring some of the UK’s biggest online influencers – while still catering to its traditional audience of mainstream sports fans via the thrilling and thought-provoking Monday Night Football, or Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship fairytale/ It’s a potent, double-award-winning combination.
SHORTLISTED
Bluey Official YouTube
The all-conquering kids brand has become an online sensation, with a combination of book reads, mini-episodes, dance-a-longs and themed clip compilations combining with full length episodes to make one of the most rounded and satisfying YouTube channels out there. In 2024 alone it delivered 3bn video views thanks to a whopping 11m subscribers, making it a major online destination that accompanies the traditional show perfectly.
CBeebies
Nikhil and Jay, based on the books by Chitra Soundar, and Maddie & Triggs, which features a visually impaired lead character, are among the brand new title that have joined longstanding CBeebies favourites such as Hey Duggee and Something Special. The powerful combination helps build a channel that in 2024 generated an average of almost 36 million streams a week to its programmes on iPlayer.
Channel 4.0
Channel 4.0 operates at the intersection of online creators and TV formats and its award-winning Minor Issues was an outstanding new addition to its slate. The Best Short Form Format places talent at the mercy of sharp-tounged children to hilarious effect. In 2024 alone the service delivered 115m YouTube views, with a whopping 56% of that viewing coming from youngsters aged 13-24. A great example of how to engage the next generation.
E4
Growing its 16-34 share by 6% was a highlight for E4, thanks in no small part to the MAFS juggernaut. The UK version of the show delivered its best ratings yet, averaging 2.9m across its fourth run, and is comfortably the biggest dating reality series in the country. The quickly recommissioned Love Triangle (and its Aussie counterpart) added to the momentum.
TNT Sports
TNT Sports’s acquisition of rugby’s Autumn Nations Series in November proved a double fillip – it opened up the service to new audiences and helped deliver its fourth best month ever, as well as winning the Best Live Event or Sports Coverage category. Another content highlight was the Champions League Goals Show Xtra, which at its height covered 18 matches simultaneously and reported on 64 goals in real-time.
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