Rachael Bland New Podcast Award 2022
AWARD RULES
***Terms updated on 6 May 2022 to reflect 1 month extension for round 2 judging***
1. The competition is open to residents of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aged 18 years or older. Employees of a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Group company or the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, as well as their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
2. Any entrant, anyone listed as creatively participating in the pitch, or anyone who creatively participates in the submitted audio must not be a professional – whether as a broadcaster, vlogger or posters of audio-visual material. For the purposes of this competition, a professional will be considered to be someone who makes more than half their income from the presenting, producing or sharing audio-visual material with the public (including but not limited to traditional linear broadcasting, on-demand services and video sharing on platforms like YouTube, Instagram or Facebook).
3. Entrants must complete the online entry form, including a pitch of no more than 500 words detailing their podcast title, format idea and those who would be creatively involved in the podcast. The pitch must be written in English and must be original - existing podcasts are not eligible for entry. You may only enter once. Your first entry will be accepted. Any subsequent entries will be disregarded.
4. The competition closes at 12:00pm (midday) on 4th February 2022. Entries received after this date will not be considered.
Entries will not be returned so please remember to keep a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted and no feedback on any entry will be provided.
5. All entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- Fun
- Distinctive
- Brings people together
- Conveying knowledge and passion for the subject
6. The panel consisting of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ judges will create a shortlist of up to 75 finalists using the criteria above.
7. The shortlisted finalists will be sent a web address for the second stage of the competition. Finalists will have to submit an audio file of no more than 3 minutes giving a taste of the proposed podcast. This audio must be for consumption by an audience that understands English. The shortlisted finalists will be clearly instructed on the close date for submissions, which will be around the beginning of April 2022.
8. The finalists will be judged by the panel using the criteria above and a single winning entry will be selected. The winner will be announced by the end of June 2022. The judges' decisions will be final and no correspondence not expressly referenced in these Rules can be entered into.
9. The prize is for the winner to have the opportunity to develop the idea with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ with the aim of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ producing a pilot series podcast for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 5 Live and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds. During this phase the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will have discussions regarding production of the pilot series; if the discussions require travel, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will pay for travel expenses for the initial meeting.
10. All entries must be the original work of the entrant (and the listed creative participants) and must not infringe the rights of any other party. Finalists must ensure that all necessary consents have been obtained from those in the audio clip submitted. Entrants must not have breached any laws in the creation of the pitch or audio submission. The pitch, audio submission and final podcast must be suitable for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s use and subject to the Editorial Guidelines –
For more information on how ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds receives pitches and commissions podcasts: /commissioning/radio/pitching-ideas/
11. If the winner is unable to be contacted after reasonable attempts have been made, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reserves the right to either offer the prize to a runner up.
12. The winner (and any relevant creative participants in the winning entry) will be required to enter into additional agreements with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in order to progress the development and creation of the podcast. Failure to agree terms will bring the prize fulfilment to an end.
13. By entering, entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these rules and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reserves the right to exclude any entry from the competition at any time and in its absolute discretion if the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has reason to believe that an entrant has breached these rules, acted fraudulently or has done anything which, in its sole discretion, brings the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ into disrepute.
14. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reserves the right to amend these Rules. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reserves the right to cancel this competition or alter any of the rules at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
15. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, its subsidiaries, sub-contractors and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem which may result in an entry not being properly registered.
16. These rules are governed by the laws of England and Wales. This competition is administered by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
17. To the extent permitted by law, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will not be liable for any loss or damage (whether such damage or losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) including financial, reputational loss or disappointment.
18. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s code of conduct for competitions applies to this competition. You can read more about it here:
19. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s Terms of Use apply to this Award. For the avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of the Terms of Use entries to the Award are not considered a creation.