Begin Entering: Monday, November 1, 2021

Entry Deadline: Monday, January 10, 2022, 12:00 pm

Awards Banquet: Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Entry Fees

MAB or MAPB Member: $50 per entry
Non-Members: $95 per entry

Eligibility
Production and broadcast must have occurred between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.

Market Divisions

Commercial Radio
Market 1           Detroit Metro Area
Market 2           Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Tri-Cities
Market 3           Adrian, Cadillac, Jackson, Port Huron and Traverse City
Market 4           Alpena, Escanaba, Marquette and Others

Commercial Television
Market 1           Detroit Metro Area
Market 2           Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Tri-Cities
Market 3           Cadillac, Jackson, Lansing and Traverse City
Market 4           Alpena, Escanaba, Marquette and Others

Statewide Broadcasting Networks
Radio, Television

Public Radio
Group 1             Public radio stations with a $2 million budget or less.
Group 2             Public radio stations with more than a $2 million budget.

Public Television
All public television stations will compete in one public television division.

Station of the Year
All public and commercial radio and TV stations entering the Broadcast Excellence Awards will be eligible for the Station of the Year. Station of the Year will be based on the total cumulative points for ALL awards won, with additional points added in the following weighted categories:

Commercial Radio (Updated List)
Commercial
Community Involvement
Continuing Coverage
Newscast
Personality*

*Stations may enter any of the listed Personality categories. If a station wins Best or Merit in more than one Personality category, the highest points won in any of the Personality categories will be applied to the Station of the Year competition.

Commercial Television (Updated List)
Community Involvement
Breaking News Story
Newscast
Sports
Weathercast

Public Radio & Television
Only those public radio and television stations who enter the Station Excellence category are eligible for Station of the Year.  Station of the Year will be based on the total cumulative points for ALL awards won, with weighted points in the Station Excellence category.

Tie Breaker
In the event of a tie for both commercial and public stations, the station with the most Best awards will be awarded Station of the Year.  If a tie remains, the station who placed highest in the Community Involvement category will be awarded Station of the Year.

2021 Broadcast Excellence Award Rules

Entries & Eligibility

  1. This competition is open to all commercial stations, public stations and statewide broadcasting networks based in Michigan. Commercial stations may only enter in the Commercial categories and Statewide Broadcasting Networks are eligible to enter in all Commercial categories. Statewide Broadcasting Television Networks may also enter in public television category #4 “Independent Producer” from the Public categories.
  1. Only stations receiving Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding may enter in the Public categories. Public stations are defined as a station licensed to operate as a non-commercial broadcasting station with primary studios and FCC authorized broadcast operations in Michigan and in partnership with another entity or itself meeting the then applicable minimum qualifications established by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Community Service Grants, as adjusted from time to time.
  1. Digital sub-stations must enter under their own separate digital sub-station call letters and cannot be combined with the primary station’s entries, unless the entry aired on both stations. Please note all digital television sub-stations are now
    included in the list of stations in the online entry system. All primary station call letters will retain -TV at the end of their call letters.  (i.e.: XXXX-TV, XXXX-DT2, XXXX-DT3 or XXXX-DT4).
  1. To enter in the Statewide Broadcasting Networks divisions, entrants must be a Michigan-based producer of network and syndicated programming. Entry must be aired on Michigan licensed broadcast stations. Statewide broadcasting networks are not eligible for Station of the Year.
  1. Entries must have been created, produced and aired by the entrant’s station. Entries may not be produced with outside advertising or production agency equipment, assistance or direction (excluding the Public Television, Independent Producer category).
  1. Awards are given to an individual station, not to individual talent. All entrants must identify themselves by using one set of station call letters unless the group of call letters are COMPLETELY simulcast.
  1. Public entries must be at least 51% locally produced. Public programs distributed throughout the state may be entered by the originating station only.
  1. Entries are limited to three (3) per station in each category with the exception of Commercial Television Community Involvement, Commercial Radio Community Involvement, Public Radio and Public Television Station Excellence categories which are limited to one (1) and Commercial Television News Reporter, News Anchor, and Photojournalist categories which are limited to five (5). 
  1. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED USING THE ONLINE ENTRY SYSTEM. HARD COPIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
  1. All Entries must first be uploaded to an external hosting site before they can be submitted to the online entry system. Below are some suggested sites. It is the responsibility of the station to make certain the link is operational on Better BNC through the end of March 2022. No refunds will be issued for links that do not open. NOTE: Analytics from online hosting sites may not be accurate. Additional fees and restrictions may apply to outside sites, please see each site for details.

YouTube.com                                           Soundcloud.com                                 Vimeo 

  1. For all winning entries, the station must also submit a :15 second, high resolution clip that can be used during the awards ceremony. Clips will be submitted via an FTP site under password protection.  Upon being notified of your winning entries, a station will be emailed an access code for the FTP site to upload their winning clips.  All corresponding clips must be labeled the same as the winning entry title(s) and must be submitted within seven (7) business days of being notified of any winning entries.
  1. Entries may not include pre-roles or any advertisements and may not exceed more than one (1) hour in length unless otherwise specified.
  1. All requested information must be complete in order to qualify.
  1. Entries without payment, incomplete entry information, missing attachments, or links that are not operational by the due date will be disqualified from the competition.

Deadlines

  1. All entries must have been produced and broadcast during the 2021 calendar year from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
  1. Entries must be submitted online by Monday, January 10, 2022 by 12:00 p.m. (noon)
  2. Finalists will be notified by mid-February. Winners, including the Stations of the Year, will be announced in March 2022 during the Broadcast Excellence Awards Presentation during the Great Lakes Media Show.

Payments

  1. Entry fees are $50 per entry for MAB, MAPB and Associate members; Non-member rate is $95 per entry. Online payments must be made before the close of the online entry system at 12:00 p.m. (noon), January 10, 2022.
  1. If paying by check, please send an email indicating your intention to pay by check and the amount that will be paid to [email protected]  Credit card payments must be made online before the system closes.  Check payments must be received no later than the close of business on January 10, 2022 or the entries will not be submitted for judging.  All fees for each station may be paid in one or multiple transactions.  

Judging & Stations of the Year

  1. Commercial Station of the Year Awards: Points for Station of the Year will be calculated as follows: Best Award = 10 points; Merit Award = 5 points; and 10 additional points per winning entry (both Best and Merit) will be awarded in the weighted categories. 
  1. Public Station of the Year Awards: Points for Station of the Year will be calculated as follows: Best Award = 10 points; Merit Award = 5 points with the exception of the Station Excellence category. For a station to be eligible for Station of the Year they must have entered the Station Excellence category. The winners of both the Best and the Merit award in the Station Excellence category will receive an additional 60 points to be counted toward Station of the Year. 
  1. Judging will be conducted by broadcasting peers outside the state of Michigan using the same online system the MAB uses for entry. 
  1. An award will be given in each category unless, in the opinion of the judges, no award is deserved. Judges will be provided each category description and time requirements. Points awarded, and final award placement, is completely at the judges’ discretion and their decision is final. Please note: all judges will be requested to view at least 25% of each entry before making any judgments. 
  1. Disputes, of any kind, about this program will be reviewed by the MAB Awards Committee.