ITV1 HD, E4 and Absolute 80s win Freesat Awards

ITV1 HD, Channel 4's youth channel E4 and Absolute 80s were among the winners at the second annual Freesat Awards last night.

Freesat awards: Judge Ben Preston with E4’s Ed Byrne, Paul Mortimer and Sarah Owen
Freesat awards: Judge Ben Preston with E4’s Ed Byrne, Paul Mortimer and Sarah Owen

The awards, hosted by Irish comedian Ed Byrne in London, recognise the excellence in channels and radio stations available on the Freesat platform.

ITV1 HD received the Judges’ Special Award for recognition of the impact the red button service and full channel has had across Freesat homes in the past year. The judges said the broadcaster had developed the service into something Freesat viewers "really love".

E4 scooped the award for Best Entertainment Channel for having an original voice which appealed directly to its target market. E4 beat the BBC HD, BBC Three and ITV2.

The Viewers’ Choice award for Freesat Channel of the Year, voted for by viewers, was awarded jointly to shopping channel Ideal World and digital radio station Planet Rock.

Best Specialist Radio Station of the Year went to Absolute Radio’s Absolute 80s.

The judges said Absolute had achieved something new with an "en vogue" genre and had attained an "astonishing" reach in a very short period.

Al Jazeera English received the award for Best News Channel of the Year, beating the BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 5 live, Bloomberg and CNN

The Freesat Awards were judged by a panel of industry figures, including Fru Hazlitt, managing director of commercial and online at ITV, and Nick Brampton, managing director of The Third Way.

The full list of winners is:

  • Best Entertainment Channel: E4
  • Best Children’s Channel: CBeebies
  • Best News Channel: Al Jazeera English
  • Lifestyle Channel: Food Network UK
  • Best Music Channel: Flava
  • Best Themed Channel: Horror Channel
  • Best Shopping Channel: QVC
  • Best Specialist Radio Station: Absolute 80s
  • Judges’ Special Award: ITV1 HD
  • Viewers’ Choice for Channel of the Year (joint winners): Ideal World (TV); Planet Rock (radio)  

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