By Milan Perera, News Writer
UBTV, the University of Bristol's student-run television station, garnered widespread recognition at the recent National Student Television Awards (NaSTA), winning three awards, including the Gold Award for Event Coverage category.
UBTV, was praised at the annual NaSTA ceremony held at Ravensbourne University in London on Saturday, April 15. The event was attended by student broadcasters from around 45 student television stations across the UK that competed for recognition in 21 categories.
This year marked the fiftieth anniversary of NaSTA and was organised in collaboration with Creative Capital. The host for the evening was the broadcast journalist and NaSTA alumni, Ellie Costello.
One of the highlights of the award night was UBTV's triumph in the Best Event Coverage category with a Gold Award for its exceptional coverage of the university's ‘Trashion Show’ that had turned everyday trash into designer wear, sending out a clear message on sustainability.
In addition to the Best Event Coverage award, UBTV also scooped up the Silver Award for Post Production.
UBTV also won the Bronze Award for Broadcaster of the Year, their first title in this category since 2017.
UBTV's dedication to producing original and innovative reporting, as well as its focus on providing a platform for students to showcase their broadcasting skills were recognised by the judging panel which consisted of some of the biggest names in the industry.
Reflecting on UBTV's success, Sophia Crothall, the station manager, expressed her pride and gratitude to the entire UBTV team:
‘Being recognised by NaSTA is a huge honour for UBTV. It shows that our hard work and creativity over the past year has been acknowledged and appreciated. It is wonderful to know that out of 40 universities that entered, we were recognised. Winning a gold, silver, and bronze award across three categories was truly rewarding.
'The bronze award for broadcaster of the year was in my opinion the best achievement as it is representative of our whole team’s work and was marked against all student TV societies.'
When we asked if UBTV intend to build upon their success at NaSTA, Crothall expressed her vision in terms of upgrading the sports coverage:
‘Next year the society intends to increase its sporting coverage, to compete with other universities. We have also recently purchased new equipment and so we hope this will improve the quality of our videos and give more students the opportunity to get involved. In turn, we intend to enter more categories and extend our reach.’
Commenting on the factors that led to the success at NaSTA, the station manager pointed out:
‘Firstly, this year we have had an excellent committee that has been really dedicated to producing high-quality and engaging content. We have created content that is representative of as many students as possible, and we wish to continue to represent the whole student community.
'We have also improved our frequency of uploading, which has also increased our subscriber count. We are the most subscribed to student TV station in the UK, which is an achievement, given almost every other student TV station has a private studio, and heaps of equipment!
'Finally, our members have been incredibly active this year and have been keen to get involved. We have seen a dramatic increase in memberships this year which has allowed us to attend more events, or film more videos in general and have them produced at a faster rate.’
UBTV's success at NaSTA has cemented its reputation as one of the leading lights in student broadcasting in the UK, showcasing the passion and talents of the University of Bristol's students on a national stage. With its commitment to excellence, UBTV continues to inspire and entertain audiences both within and outside of the university community.
