Announcing the Inaugural European Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards

We're excited to announce the first annual European Streaming Media Readers' Choice Award, for which nominations will be accepted beginning today. Modeled after the successful U.S. program, the European Readers' Choice Awards will be the only awards program that honors the top efforts in the online video industry as decided by the people who actually use the products and services and watch the content.

The awards process begins with the collection of nominations in 12 categories:

• Transcoding Solution—Hardware, software, or cloud-based solution for encoding and transcoding content

• Online Video Platform—SaaS platforms that enable customizable publication, syndication, distribution, and monetisation of video on the web

• UGC Platform—User-generated content sites and services

• TV over IP Solution—Set-top box, over-the-top, and "catch-up" solutions for delivering television content online

• Reporting, Analytics—Services that offer metrics that, among other things, help content publishers better understand who's watching, when they're watching, where they're watching, and for how long

• Streaming Services Provider—Provider of end-to-end streaming services, from capture and encoding to delivery and distribution

• Video Advert Platform—Technologies and services that allow for targeted ad insertion into online video content

• Webcast Platform—Hardware, software, and SaaS solutions for delivering live web events

• Delivery Network—Edge or peer-to-peer content delivery providers

• Music & Audio Delivery Solution—Music download services, internet radio, and music sharing

• Best Live Webcast of 2009—Most impressive and successful live web event

• Best Streaming Innovation of 2009—The "catch-all" category, for simply the coolest, most innovative streaming product, service, or event of the year.

Nominations may be submitted here beginning today through 29 June. The staff of Streaming Media will evaluate the nominations for appropriateness to category and then publish a list of nominees in each category on 6 July.

At that point, our readers will be able to vote for one nominee in each category, with the voting open until 21 August. We'll publish the finalists—the top 3 vote-getters in each category—on 7 September, and then announce the winner in each category at Streaming Media Europe on 15 October, as well as on the website and in the Winter European edition of Streaming Media magazine.

So make your nominations soon, and look out for the list of nominees on 6 July!