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  The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced the winners of its first International Interactive Emmy Awards. The awards were organized in partnership with conference organizer, Reed MIDEM, and were presented at a black-tie event on April 5th, during the MIPTV tradeshow in Cannes. The event was the first ever Emmy Awards ceremony to be held outside the US. A "Pioneer Prize" was presented to Jonathan Miller, chairman and CEO of AOL, for "innovative contributions to the field of interactive television." Emmys, meanwhile, were awarded in three categories:

• The Emmy for Best Interactive Television Program ("for television programming that has been enhanced with interactive content") went to France’s "Cult" (Streampower-P Prod France 5; production team: Dominique Delport, Estelle Ghouzi, Nicolas Valode, Damien Marchi). The latter is a daily, interactive, one-hour live show dedicated to urban culture and targeted at the 15-35 year-old demographic. Via its Web site, it allows any viewer equipped with a Webcam and a high-speed Internet connection to contribute, participate and react live from their homes. It also offers blogging, local news and live video messaging from concert halls using 3G phones. According to the International Academy, "Cult provides an uplifting place for urban young adults and teens, where their opinions are taken seriously and interactivity supports multiculturalism."
• The Emmy for Best Interactive Channel ("for a non-linear channel that is available to the viewer on a 24/7 basis, accessible through their television" and that "allows the viewer to interact and engage with content on their television screen") went to the UK’s "Scamp" (Video Networks; production team: Marco Giusti, Emma Reynolds, Matt Brown, Paul Dixon, Sarah Hughes). The latter is a dedicated interactive VOD channel for children. It allows viewers to watch all their favorite shows back-to-back, work their way through all the episodes of a series, or add any show to a personal favorites list with a single button press. For children who haven’t yet learned to read, it enables navigation via video walls featuring characters from its various shows. Other features include a "Scamp for Grown Ups" area that allows parents to manage their children’s viewing, and a service that automatically schedules 10 minutes of programming interspersed with messages reminding children that it is time for them to go to bed.
• The Emmy for Best Interactive Television Service ("for a television service that allows users to access multiple video, audio, data and interactive applications") went to South Korea’s Hello D (CJ CableNet; general manager: Ki-Jeong Kwon; services manager: Jun-Hwan Kim). The latter, which is the digital platform of Korean cable operator, CJ CableNet, was the first commercial deployment of OCAP. Among other things, it provides interactive TV services and VOD.

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