Brian Robbins, Founder & CEO of AwesomenessTV to Receive Pioneer Prize at International Digital Emmy® Awards @MIPTV 2015

New York, March 5, 2015 – Brian Robbins, the American TV, film and digital media producer behind AwesomenessTV, a multi-platform media company serving the global teen audience and one of the most subscribed to teen destinations on YouTube, is set to receive the 2015 Pioneer Prize at the International Digital Emmy® Awards. He will accept the prize on Monday, April 13th at MIPTV.
 
After producing numerous popular and critically acclaimed television hits aimed at teens and young audiences for WB, Nickelodeon and Disney, Robbins decided to focus on digital media with the creation of the AwesomenessTV YouTube channel. Launched in July 2012, AwesomenessTV quickly became the fastest growing teen and tween destination on YouTube, accumulating over seven billion views worldwide. AwesomenessTV was acquired by Dreamworks Animation in May 2013 and Hearst acquired a 25% interest in December 2014. Continuing to operate independently with Robbins at its helm, the fast growing company has expanded into film and television production, consumer products, music and publishing. It also produces DreamWorksTV.
 
“Brian Robbins is a force to reckon with- a multi-talented producer and entrepreneur who has harnessed his unique know-how of the teen audience to create, at record speed, a global multi-platform media company that keeps on reinventing how content is being produced, distributed and watched,” said International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences President & CEO, Bruce Paisner. “We look forward to recognizing his innovative contributions to the field of digital entertainment with our 2015 Pioneer Prize.”
 
“Awesome is the best way to describe being honored for something that I love doing. I’ve been producing content for teen and tween audiences my entire life but digital media has enabled me to connect with them in ways unimaginable a few short years ago,” said Robbins, CEO and Founder AwesomenessTV. “Not only can we deliver content when and where teens want to access it, but we are now able to reach a global audience day and date.”
 
In addition to the Pioneer Prize, the International Academy will present 3 International Digital Emmy Awards for Digital Program: Children & Young People; Digital Program: Fiction and Digital Program: Non-Fiction.  

As in previous years, the International Digital Emmy Awards, sponsored by the Bell Fund will bring together over 200 international executives across the entertainment, mobile and Internet industries at an exclusive ceremony, on the opening night of MIPTV 2015.
 
Robbins will also be part of MIPTV’s Digital Fronts with a presentation on April 15.

About Brian Robbins
Brian Robbins is one of the entertainment industry’s most prolific producers of television, film and digital media. As founder of AwesomenessTV, which launched in July 2012, he helms one of the fastest growing teen and tween destinations on YouTube. The AwesomenessTV banner includes AwesomenessTV, a channel featuring scripted and reality series and the ATV Network, a community-based MCN focused on discovering and supporting the next generation of YouTube stars, with over 90,000 channels of teen content creators who have accumulated over seven billion views. The channel has expanded off YouTube to produce and distribute the AwesomenessTV series and Terry the Tomboy movie with Nickelodeon, Richie Rich on Netflix and the feature films Expelled and Mindless Behavior: All Around The World. AwesomenessTV was acquired by DreamWorks Animation in May of 2013 and is now a majority-owned subsidiary that continues to operate independently. Hearst Corporation has a 25% interest. Robbins also oversees the DreamWorksTV YouTube channel, which offers original animated and live-action programming. As the co-founder of Tollin/Robbins Productions and the founder and president of Varsity Pictures, Robbins is best known for executive producing numerous popular and critical television hits aimed at teens and young audiences, including the long-running CW series Smallville and One Tree Hill, Disney Channel’s Sonny With a Chance and So Random, Nickelodeon’s All That and Kenan and Kel, and Spike TV’s Blue Mountain State. Robbins was also the producing force behind the popular WB series What I Like About You and HBO’s Arli$$.In features, Robbins has directed and/or produced films such as Disney’s Wild Hogs and Shaggy Dog, Paramount’s Coach Carter, Hardball and Varsity Blues, DreamWorks’ Norbit and A Thousand Words and Sony’s Radio. Prior to AwesomenessTV, Robbins financed, produced and distributed the feature film FRED: The Movie, based on teenager Lucas Cruikshank’s record-breaking series of FRED videos on YouTube, and also produced its sequels, Night of the Living FRED and Fred 3: Camp Fred, as well as the ensuing television series FRED The Show that aired on Nickelodeon. All three films, as well as FRED The Show, debuted to record audiences amongst both teens and tweens. Robbins won a Directors Guild Award, a Peabody Award, and has been nominated for the Emmy Award.
 
 
About the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a membership based organization comprised of leading media and entertainment figures from over 50 countries and 500 companies from all sectors of television including internet, mobile and technology. The Academy’s yearly schedule of events includes the prestigious International Emmy® Awards and International Emmy® Kids Awards Ceremonies held in New York, The International Digital Emmy® Awardsat MIPTV and a series of industry events such as Academy Day, The International Emmy® World Television Festival and Panels on substantive industry topics. The Academy was chartered with a mission to recognize excellence in television produced outside of the United States and it presents The International Emmy® Awards in the following twenty categories: Arts Programming; Best Performance by an Actress; Best Performance by an Actor; Current Affairs; Comedy; Digital Program: Children & Young People; Digital Program: Fiction; Digital Program: Non-Fiction; Documentary; Drama Series; Kids: Preschool; Kids: Animation; Kids: Factual; Kids: Non-Scripted Entertainment; Kids: Series; Kids: TV Movie/Mini-Series News; Non-Scripted Entertainment; Telenovela; TV Movie/Mini-Series. For more information go to www.iemmys.tv. The International Academy also recognizes Non-English Language US primetime programming, with a new category added to the International Emmy® Awards competition in 2014.
 

About The Bell Fund
The Bell Fund provides grants to Canadian independent producers who develop and produce engaging, interactive cross-platform digital content for Canadian broadcasters to complement and enhance associated television programs. Since 1997, the Bell Fund has invested over $150M in over 1,500 Canadian digital media projects, television programs, development grants, co-productions and support for research and professional development. The Bell Fund also undertakes training, research, business development and promotion for the digital media industry.

The Bell Fund receives annual contributions of approximately $14.5 M from Bell TV as part of its broadcast distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the industry. In addition, the Development Program is supported by the interest generated by a $10M endowment, and contributions from Aliant. The Bell Fund is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, governed by an independent Board of Directors representing various sectors of the television and digital media industry.  

About MIPTV
MIPTV is the world’s biggest TV and digital content market powering the unlimited potential of extraordinary stories. In April, professionals from across the TV and digital entertainment ecosystem gather in Cannes, France, to forge partnerships, seal distribution deals, network with their international executive peers, and attend high-level conferences and keynotes. MIPTV is also a key venue for early-stage development and financing deals, content acquisitions and programme sales. And with the MIP Digital Fronts- the premier global digital content market – empowering the new digital content era and bringing together the new online video ecosystem with the TV industry, MIPTV anticipates and shapes the future of entertainment. www.miptv.com

Visit us at MIPTV Booth P-1N61

MEDIA CONTACTS

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Eva Obadia, Senior Director, Communications & Partnerships
Tel: +1-212-489-6969
eva.obadia@iemmys.tv

The Lippin Group
Don Ciaramella
Tel: +1-212-986-7080  
don@lippingroup.com