Frankfurt/Munich, 25 June 2021. "Connect! The Smart TV Award" goes into the second round. MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN and the Deutsche TV-Plattform will once again present the Smart TV Award for special innovations, apps and services related to connected television. The award is supported by MedienNetzwerk Bayern.

The best connected TV services will be awarded in the categories "Best User Experience", "Best Technological Innovation", "Best Brand Performance", "Best Special Interest Offer" and "Best Newcomer". The winners will have the opportunity to present themselves in a digital masterclass at MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN 2021. They will also benefit from the reach and media attention of Medien.Bayern GmbH and the Deutsche TV-Plattform. The prize is not endowed.

All providers whose Connected TV services are available in Germany or in the DACH region can apply, regardless of the location of the company headquarters. Connected TV Services are applications that can be used on one or all of the following platforms:
- TV boxes, receivers or sticks
- Smart TV platforms on TV sets
- HbbTV applications

Applications can be submitted until 31 August 2021, and the awards will be presented at the conference "Connect! The Future of TV" conference at MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN on Tuesday, 26 October 2021. If the Corona location permits, the prizes will be presented by the jury on site.
The announcement and registration information is available at https://medientage.de/connect-the-smart-tv-award-2021.

The winners of the "Connect! The Smart TV Award" will be decided by a top-class jury of industry experts
- Christine Gebhard, Editor-in-Chief film-tv-video.de
- Prof. Dr. Heidi Krömker, Head of Department, Chairwoman of the Examination Board for the Media Technology course, TU Ilmenau
- Jan Möllendorf, Managing Partner defacto x
- Kathleen Schröter, Technologist & Alchemist J2C
- Torsten Zarges, Chief Reporter dwdl.de

Andre Prahl, Chairman of the Deutsche TV-Plattform: "The first edition of "Connect! The Smart TV Award" last year was a great success with 70 applications. We are very pleased that together with our partners MEDIENTAGE MÜNCHEN and MedienNetzwerk Bayern we can once again award the best and most innovative providers of smart services."

Stefan Sutor, CEO of Medien.Bayern GmbH: "The turbulent year has once again accelerated developments in the field of Connected TV. The current dynamics in the market show us how important and relevant such an award is. There is an innovation this year in the category "All Eyes on you - Best Newcomer": for the first time, creative and artistic ideas for the use of TV screens of the future can also be submitted here. Last year, this award category focused primarily on new products on the market. Now we are opening the category to innovative and unconventional scenarios for the screen use of tomorrow."