Media Release
Monday 24th July, 2017
For Immediate Release
The New Zealand Television Awards Are Back in 2017
The New Zealand Television Awards are thrilled to announce their return in 2017 with entries open as of today, Monday
July 24, 2017.
The New Zealand Television Awards recognise excellence in television, and will honour the special skills and unique
talents of the companies and individuals who create, produce, and perform in television programmes in New Zealand.
The Awards, which will be held across two ceremonies in Auckland in November, are open to traditional, subscription and
- for the first time - digital television platforms. The Craft Awards, which honour the very best of New Zealand’s
technical television expertise, will be held on Wednesday 8th November while the Awards Gala ceremony will take place at
SkyCity Theatre on Thursday 30th November.
The Awards are being overseen by an independent committee of key industry players, including: South Pacific Pictures
Chief Executive and President of the Screen Production and Development Association Kelly Martin, award-winning producer
and series creator Bailey Mackey, 2B Media President Martin Cleave, entertainment publicist Tamar Münch and Great
Southern Television’s Managing Director Phil Smith.
“Television consumption methods may be changing at a rapid rate but it’s still all about the content and these Awards
give the local industry a chance to take a moment to acknowledge the best of New Zealand television production,” says
Kelly Martin.
Bailey Mackey says: “It’s been half a decade since our local TV industry last had an awards ceremony so it’s about time
we rectified that and get the chance to honour the best and brightest of the small screen in Aotearoa.”
Justine McKay and Andy Dowding of J Productions – the driving force behind the Vodafone NZ Music Awards - are running all aspects of the awards including
entry administration and event management. An anonymous judging pool of 90 people has been enlisted from within New
Zealand’s screen and media industries to judge the Awards categories.
The 2017 New Zealand Television Awards categories are:
• Best Drama Series
• Best Feature Drama
• Best Factual Series
• Best Documentary
• Best Reality Series
• Best Lifestyle Programme
• Best Current Affairs Programme
• Best Web Series
• Best Children’s Programme
• Best Māori Programme
• Best Pasifika Programme
• Best News Coverage
• Best Sports Programme
• Best Live Event Coverage
• Best Comedy or Comedy Entertainment Programme
• Best Director: Documentary or Factual
• Best Director: Drama
• Best Director: Multi camera
• Best Script: Comedy
• Best Script: Drama
• Best Actress
• Best Actor
• Best Presenter
• Television Personality of the Year
•
Craft Awards:
• Best Editing: Documentary or Factual
• Best Editing: Drama
• Best Camerawork: Documentary or Factual
• Best Cinematography: Drama
• Best Contribution to a Soundtrack
• Best Original Score
• Best Post Production Design
• Best Art Direction or Production Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Makeup Design
In recognition that the New Zealand Television Awards have not been held for a number of years, the Eligibility Period
for this year’s Awards will cover a two-year period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2017.
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