The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced the recipients of the 68th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards that will take place on Saturday, January 7th, 2017. This event marks the eleventh consecutive year that the Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards have been presented during CES. The reception and presentation will take place in the Monet Ballroom at The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas beginning at 6:30 p.m.
“From our beginnings in 1948, the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards always recognized the talented and innovative leaders and companies that have made our industry possible,” said Bob Mauro, president, NATAS. “As we all enjoy the new world of television on our laptops, tablets and smartphones, we take time tonight to honor those that have the vision of seeing the seemingly impossible and making it a reality.”
“The National Academy’s Technology and Engineering Achievement Committee is pleased to honor these technology companies and especially happy to honor, Tony Werner, president of Technology and Product at Comcast Cable with our Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished career,” said committee chairman, Robert P. Seidel, VP of CBS Engineering and Advanced Technology and chairman, Engineering Achievement Committee, NATAS. “Over the last twenty-five years, Tony has been one of the leaders in the digital revolution in video, voice and data services in our industry delivering world-class products to consumers and companies alike.”
The individuals and companies that will be honored at the event follow.
2016 Technical / Engineering Achievement Awards
Live Production Technology Beyond HD to Achieve Non-Interpolated Video for Instant Replay
- Evertz
- EVS
- FOR-A
Concept of Opto-Electric Transduction
- Telcon (Alcatel Lucent-Submarine Networks)
- Society of Telegraph Engineers (Institute of Engineering and Technology)
- Siemens
Development and Standardization of Media Object Server (MOS) Protocol
- Media Object Server (MOS) Group
System for Executing Targeted Household Advertising on Linear Television
- Invidi Technologies
- Visible World
Pioneering Invention and Deployment of Fiber Optic Cable
- Corning
- Bell Labs/Western Electric (OFS)
Pioneering Technology to Automate the Digital On-Line Assembly of Broadcast Content
- IBM Corporation
- Laser Pacific/SCAA (Technicolor)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Tony Werner
Tony G. Werner serves as president of Technology and Product for Comcast Cable. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Technology and Product organization, including innovation, development and operations. The Technology and Product team leads the design and development of Comcast’s customer-facing products, including the X1 Entertainment Operating System, second-screen apps, and ultra-fast home Internet and Wi-Fi. The organization also leads software development, systems engineering, next-generation access networks, cloud computing, technical operations and R&D within Comcast.
Under Werner’s leadership, Comcast has completed major platform developments, including DOCSIS 3.0, the Digital terminal Adapter/all-digital transition and the X1 platform. . In 2015, Comcast became the first company to connect a gigabit-class DOCSIS 3.1 modem on a customer-facing network.
The Technology and Product organization also designs and builds new X1 features like Kids Zone, the Sports App and X1 Voice Remote.
Prior to joining Comcast in 2006, Werner served as sr. VP and chief technology officer for Liberty Global, Inc., in Englewood, CO, where he led the company’s global strategy for video, voice and data services. He has more than 25 years of engineering and technical management experience, having also held senior management positions with Qwest Communications, Aurora Networks, TeleCommunications, Inc. (TCI)/AT&T Broadband, Rogers Communications, Inc., and RCA Cablevision Systems.
Werner serves as president and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) Foundation (2015-16 term).
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More