Sunday, December 15, 2013

Nickelodeon Australia Nominated For Four 2014 ASTRA Awards

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) has announced the aweslime Nickelodeon News in the following press release, via the Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand publicity team on their official Twitter profile page, @NickPR, and mailchimp.com, that Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand, the Australian and Kiwi version of the popular children's channel, has been nominated for four ASTRA Awards in the industry-voted-for portion of the 2014 ASTRA Awards!

Nickelodeon Australia's second annual "SLIMEFEST" event, "SLIMEFEST 2013", Australia's first music festival just for kids, tweens and teenagers, which, hosted by Nick AU presenters Luke Ryan and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd, combined all the best bits from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards with Australian celebrities, and of course, lots and lots of Nickelodeon's world famous SLIME, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding General Entertainment Program" ASTRA Award, and the 2013 series of "Camp Orange", Nickelodeon's adventure reality show for best friends, called "Camp Orange: Spill Seekers", also presented by hosts Luke and Wyatt, has been nominated in the "Most Outstanding Reality Program" award category! Nick Jr. Channel Australia's new locally produced highly interactive and educational music preschool series called "Play Along with Sam", which premiered in May 2013, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding Children's Content" ASTRA Award, and the shows host, former Yellow Wiggle from The Wiggles, Sam Moran, has been nominated for the "Most Outstanding New Talent" ASTRA Award!

The announcement of finalists in the 15 industry-voted categories has been brought forward on the entertainment calendar, because in 2014 – for the first time – the awards will be staged in March instead of mid-year, in line with other entertainment and media industry events.

The awards were judged on Monday, 9 December 2013 by 52 senior leaders drawn from Foxtel and 19 independently owned and operated television channels.

The 12th annual ASTRA Awards will take place at Sydney's Carriageworks in Redfern on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Two new awards – the industry-voted sports entertainment program award and a channel achievement award – will be presented for the first time.

Finalists in the five subscriber-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards will be announced on Monday, 3 February 2014 when voting opens to the public.

ASTRA's Industry Excellence Awards will be announced on Monday, December 16 2013.

The ASTRA Awards recognises excellence in the Australian subscription TV (STV) industry and are in their 12th year in 2014. The ASTRA Awards received 30 percent more entries this year, reflecting the growing diversity and quality of content screened on Australian subscription television throughout 2013.

You can find a full list of nominations in the industry-voted for section of the 2014 ASTRA Awards below.

Congratulations and good luck, Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand!!

Original ASTRA Press Release:

Issued: 13 December 2013

2014 ASTRA Awards: finalists announced

Finalists in the industry-voted categories of the 2014 ASTRA Awards were announced today, with more than 50 contenders across 15 categories representing 20 subscription television channels.

FOX SPORTS received the highest number of nominations, scoring 10 nominations across four categories.

The announcement of finalists in the 15 industry-voted categories has been brought forward on the entertainment calendar, because in 2014 – for the first time – the awards will be staged in March instead of mid-year, in line with other entertainment and media industry events.

"The number of entries was up 30 percent this year, reflecting the growing diversity and quality of content screened on subscription television in 2013," ASTRA CEO, Andrew Maiden, said today.

"The Australian subscription television industry invests $700 million in Australian content, producing more than a quarter of a million hours of Australian television each year."

"The 2014 ASTRA Awards will recognise the quality, diversity and creativity of that content," Mr Maiden said.

The awards were judged on Monday, 9 December by 52 senior leaders drawn from Foxtel and 19 independently owned and operated television channels.

The 12th annual ASTRA Awards will take place at Sydney’s Carriageworks in Redfern on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Two new awards – the industry-voted sports entertainment program award and a channel achievement award – will be presented for the first time.

Finalists in the five subscriber-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards will be announced on Monday, 3 February when voting opens to the public.

ASTRA's Industry Excellence Awards will be announced on Monday, December 16.

For more information, visit astraawards.com and share your comments and congratulations @astraevent #ASTRAS

Finalists in the industry-voted categories of the 12th ASTRA Awards are:

Most Outstanding Children’s Content

* Disney Channel FanFest TV Special Event (Disney Channel)
* Squeak & Boo (Disney Junior)
* Play Along with Sam (Nick Jr.)

Most Outstanding Music Program

* Kings Of Leon On Sydney Harbour (Channel [V])
* STUDIO at the MEMO (STUDIO)
* The Riff (Channel [V])

Most Outstanding Sports Program

* The Code – Life With The Mariners (FOX SPORTS)
* The DHL Australia 2013 Lions Tour (FOX SPORTS)
* Socceroos’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign (FOX SPORTS)
* Friday Night Footy on FOX (FOX FOOTY)
* 2012/13 Hyundai A-League (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Sports Entertainment Program

* Monday Night with Matty Johns (FOX SPORTS)
* RUGBY HQ (FOX SPORTS)
* Open Mike (FOX FOOTY)
* AFL 360 (FOX FOOTY)
* Sunday Shootout (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Factual Program

* Australia: Life On The Edge (National Geographic Channel)
* Building Australia (HISTORY)
* Breaker Morant – The Retrial (HISTORY)
* The People Speak (HISTORY)
* Abalone Wars (Discovery Channel)

Most Outstanding News Program

* Witness to Courage [CNN International’s Coverage of Typhoon Haiyan] (CNN International)
* Election 2013 Coverage (SKY NEWS National)
* Paul Murray Live (SKY NEWS National)
Most Outstanding Reality Program
* Geordie Shore Season 6 – No Delay from the UK! (MTV Australia)
* Australia’s Next Top Model, Season 8 (FOX8)
* Camp Orange: Spill Seekers (Nickelodeon)

Most Outstanding Lifestyle Program

* Paddock to Plate (The LifeStyle Channel)
* Selling Houses Australia (The LifeStyle Channel)
* Grand Designs Australia (The LifeStyle Channel)

Most Outstanding General Entertainment Program

* Aussie Pickers (A&E)
* Oprah’s Next Chapter (Discovery Home & Health)
* SLIMEFEST 2013 (Nickelodeon)

Most Outstanding Australian Drama

* Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Use of Innovation

* Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda (Discovery Channel)
* Ref Cam (FOX SPORTS)
* Rugby on FOX SPORTS (FOX SPORTS)

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Male

* Peter Mullan, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* David Wenham, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Aaron Jeffery, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Robbie Magasiva, Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Female

* Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake (UKTV)
* Danielle Cormack, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Nicole da Silva, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Kris McQuade, Wentworth (SoHo)

Most Outstanding Performance By A Broadcast Journalist

* Kieran Gilbert, AM Agenda, Election Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Ahron Young, News Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Daniel Bourchier, News Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* David Speers, PM Agenda, The Nation, Election Coverage (SKY NEWS)
* Gerard Whateley, AFL 360 (FOX FOOTY)

Most Outstanding New Talent

* Shareena Clanton, Wentworth (SoHo)
* Sam Moran, Play Along With Sam (Nick Jr.)
* Kelli Underwood, Back Page LIVE and ANZ Championship (FOX SPORTS)

About the ASTRA Awards

The ASTRA Awards reward the creativity, diversity and quality of the Australian subscription television industry. A total of 22 awards voted by subscribers and industry experts recognise the best content and presenters on more than 100 subscription television channels. Follow us on Twitter at @astraevent and on Facebook at fb.com/astraawards. For more information visit www.astraawards.com.

About ASTRA

ASTRA is the peak body representing more than 30 organisations in the Australian subscription television industry. ASTRA members broadcast content to one in three Australians, invest $700 million in local content, add nearly $1.6 billion to the economy and create jobs for 6600 Australians. For more information visit www.astra.org.au.

For media enquiries about the 12th ASTRA Awards, please contact eckfactor:
astraawards@eckfactor.com or (02) 8570 5555
www.eckfactor.com

ASTRA Awards 2014 Sponsors:

FOXTEL
T - It's How We Connect

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