Sydney ready for 8th ASTRA Awards

The Subscription Television industry tonight will tonight gather at the State Theatre in Sydney for the 8th Annual ASTRA Awards.

The black tie theatre-style event will see stars, network execs, producers, publicists, staff and media celebrate a year of programming and production.

ASTRA represents Foxtel, Austar, Optus TV and Telstra, but does not include other players such as SelecTV.

Hosting the night is SKY News presenter David Speers -with the event falling at a time when a major political story is breaking.

Speers has been brought on as host following some criticism that last year’s event was too much partying, not enough class. This year the event needs to walk away on a positive note, as the sector continues to show some muscle against Freeview and awaits the outcome of the anti-siphoning review. After walking home empty-handed at the Logies, it will also be looking to add some prestige to its brands. Tangle is a hot tip to be popping the champagne by the end of the night.

Performing are Troy Cassar-Daley, Operator Please, Dan Sultan and Lee Kernaghan.

Walking the Red Carpet will be Sarah Murdoch, Charlotte Dawson, Alex Perry, Ruby Rose, Erin McNaught, Tara Moss, Andrew Winter, Brendan Moar, Sarah Wilson, Catherine McClements, Justine Clarke, Matt Day, Eva Lazzaro, Camille Keenan, Dustin Clare.

Also attending are Steve Liebmann, Tiffany Cherry, Matt Shirvington, Mathew Mitcham, Kris Smith, Lee Furlong, Gyton Grantley, Jenna Lind, Magdalena Roze, Anthony Callea, Scott Pape, Yumi Stynes, Chit Chat, Danny Clayton, Kyle Linahan, Billy Russell, Jane Gazzo, Renee Bargh, Rob Carlton, James Tobin, Lizzy Lovette, Penne Dennison, Renee Brack, Alicia Banit, Sonic the Hedgehog and Dora the Explorer, Brendon Julian, Phil Kearns, Laurie Daley, Mark Occhilupo, Bridie Barry, Brooke Corte, Celina Edmonds, David Lipson, Jacinta Tynan, Mike Willesee, Nadine Blayney, Susanne Latimore and Vanezza Trezise. Also attending is former Queer Eye designer Thom Filicia.

There are 73 finalists across 17 categories.

ASTRA CEO Petra Buchanan recently told TV Tonight the voting and judging had been revamped this year. 45 judges reviewed nominations and footage, awarding points to nominees before arriving at a shortlist of finalists.

“There are a series of questions the nominees must provide detail on, which relate to the objectives of the programme. There are slight criteria differentials between programme-related categories and talent categories. One is much more subjective in terms of their performance,” she said.

“We then approach executives across the industry who form judging panels. We really try to have an inclusive spread to make sure we don’t have bias in any area or for any one channel.”

Amongst the nominees are:

Most Outstanding Drama
Tangle Showcase The Premium Movie Partnership
False Witness UKTV BBC Worldwide
:30 Seconds The Comedy Channel FOXTEL

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Male
Matt Day – Tangle Showcase The Premium Movie Partnership
Ben Mendelsohn -Tangle Showcase The Premium Movie Partnership
Dougray Scott – False Witness UKTV BBC Worldwide
Joel Tobeck – :30 Seconds The Comedy Channel FOXTEL

Most Outstanding Performance By An Actor – Female
Justine Clarke – Tangle Showcase The Premium Movie Partnership
Catherine McClements – Tangle Showcase The Premium Movie Partnership
Kat Stewart – :30 Seconds The Comedy Channel FOXTEL

Favourite Personality
Brendan Moar The LifeStyle Channel XYZnetworks
Andrew Winter The LifeStyle Channel XYZnetworks
Jimmy Barnes MAX XYZnetworks
Danny Clayton Channel [V] XYZnetworks
Sarah Murdoch FOX8 FOXTEL
Bill Collins FOX Classics FOXTEL
Ruby Rose MTV MTV Networks Australia
Alex Perry FOX8 FOXTEL

Favourite Program
Selling Houses Australia – Season 2 The Lifestyle Channel XYZnetworks
B430 Channel [V] XYZnetworks
Sound Relief Channel [V] & MAX XYZnetworks
Football Superstar – Series 2 FOX8 FOXTEL
Australia’s Next Top Model – Series 5 FOX8 FOXTEL
The Contender Australia FOX8 FOXTEL
Camp Orange: The Final Frontier Nickelodeon Nickelodeon Australia
Deadliest Catch – Season 5 Discovery Discovery Networks

Channel Of The Year
Bio – Foxtel
The Lifestyle Channel – XYZ Networks
FOX8 – Foxtel
FOX Sports – Premier Media Group
Nick Jr. – Nickelodeon Australia

For full nominees please visit here.

ARENA will be showing highlights on Saturday 26th June at 6.30pm.