New York Festivals Television & Film Awards will honor Ken Aagaard, executive VP, operations, engineering & production services, CBS Sports, with the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. Aagaard will receive the award at the New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards gala on April 14, 2015 at the annual NAB Show. New York Festivals TV & Film Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes prominent industry leaders whose accomplishments and contributions have advanced their field and made a lasting impression on the industry.
“In the 45 years I have been fortunate enough to be working in the broadcast business, content has always been king and the show has always been the most important,” said Aagaard. “I have also been fortunate to achieve such a long career by surrounding myself with a lot of good people. I am honored to receive this award and share it with a lifetime of colleagues.”
With a media career spanning over four decades, Aagaard is one of sports television’s most respected broadcast executives. His resume includes high profile global sporting events for many networks including 18 Super Bowls, five World Series, a half dozen Wimbledon matches and French Opens, and three Olympic Games, including the 1988 Games in Seoul where he was VP Operations for NBC Olympics.
Aagaard introduced multiple critically acclaimed technical achievements including EyeVison, a new technology showing replays in a 3-D way introduced in January 2001 at Super Bowl XXXV, and Swing Vision, a super-slow motion breakdown for replaying golf swings.
Prior to joining CBS Sports in 1998, Aagaard was president of Creative Broadcast Techniques, a company which he established in 1988. While at CBT he worked as a consultant to CBS Sports, to NBC for the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Summer Games, to Fox Studios, Los Angeles, for 1995 NFL football, and HBO for Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour and Paul Simon Live in Central Park concert. He served as operations producer for events including World Figure Skating Championships (1992-95), Super Bowl Television in Los Angeles (1993), Atlanta (1994) and Miami (1995), World Cup Soccer (1994), the New York City Marathon (1994-95) and the NHL All-Star Game (1994).
The New York Festivals Awards 2015 ceremony will celebrate the World’s Best TV & Films, as well as present the Lifetime Achievement Award, Broadcaster of the Year, Production Company of the Year, and United Nations Department of Public Information Awards. The deadline to enter the 2015 Television & Film Awards competition is October 15, 2014.