TV Guide announced that it's launching a new online award program to recognize "the best and most innovative professional video programming, created specifically for the Web," they said in a press release.
With a reach of 73 million unique across all its platforms weekly, TV Guide will promote and offer coverage of the Online Video Awards in a cross-platform strategy.
Entries for the awards will be determined by professionally produced programming and entertainment content that has been either aired online or shown on any digital media format between January 2007 and running through October 2007.
There will be a dual way winners can be chosen, with some categories being chosen directly by consumers and viewers, and others chosen by the TV Guide 
editors. Fans and consumers will be able to vote on TV Guide Online as well as TV Guide Mobile. Fans will be able to start voting in October 2007 for their favorites on TV Guide.com.
While the content will be chosen from entries specifically created for the Internet or digital devices, there is no criteria laid out for what is constituted as "professional video programming."
This is interesting and will be worth following to see the types of categories they offer and how they define "professional."
For us online marketers, I wanted to point out the value of creating award programs if you have any type of following at all.
Award programs offer marketers one more way to differentiate from their competitors and put you in the place of being an expert in the industry. If you're the one offering it, people are looking to you in a way that is different than they way they look to others. You've become a hub of activity and connectivity because of the desire of people to be awarded in the industry or niche you may serve.
It doesn't necessarily even have to be super formal. It could be as simple as picking out 10 web sites or blogs that may be strong interest to viewers. You could have viewers vote on them or some type of dual way of doing it like TV Guide is.
It will draw a lot of buzz and attention within your niche and keep people thinking of your site or blog as a destination. This has been done very successfully by a number of Internet industries and individual businesses.
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