Winners of the 2024 PILOT Innovation Challenge:

Amira Labs -|- AudioShake -|- Chord Communities

Honorable Mention to Black Stock Footage and ConnectionOpen

The Challenge Focus

PILOT’s 2024 Innovation Challenge is seeking startups and growing companies looking to help broadcasters rise to some of the key challenges and seize opportunities they are likely to face over the next few years. A successful company will have a prototype or early-stage product to demonstrate at the 2024 NAB Show. This annual opportunity highlights innovations that will help broadcast media address challenges in an increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace.

Submissions should align with the three focus areas of the NAB Show:

• Create: Focused on content creation from pre-production to post, including the latest tools and advanced workflow solutions to elevate storytelling.
• Capitalize: Focused on reach and ROI, including next-generation technologies creating new revenue streams and fueling the content economy.
• Connect: Focused on content distribution and delivery, from cloud computing to new media infrastructure.

Winners

If selected, winners will receive:

• Exhibit kiosk at the NAB Show
• Domestic travel expenses for two employees to attend the show (four-night accommodations, airfare reimbursement NTE $500 per person)
• Identification as a PILOT Innovation Challenge winner in NAB/PILOT/NAB Show publications
• Profile on the PILOT website
• Opportunity to write a guest blog post on the PILOT blog
• One-on-one coaching session with NAB’s CTO about what to expect and how to get the most out of the NAB Show
• Additional opportunities to work with NAB member companies as part of an ongoing relationship with PILOT

Selection Process

Up to 10 finalists may be selected by a panel of industry experts based on the judging criteria. The finalists will be notified in February and continue to the final phase where they will be interviewed by a panel of judges from the PILOT team. Up to three winners may be selected and notified by March 27, 2024.

Judging Criteria

• Readiness – How close is the product or prototype to being ready for use by broadcasters? If submission requires further development before commercial deployment, is there a clear roadmap for when and how that development will occur? (1/3)
• Relevance – How well does the proposal meet the challenge question and the needs of the broadcasting industry? (1/3)
• Viability – How likely will this be implemented and used by broadcasters? (1/3)

Eligibility

Open to individuals, teams of individuals, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations (each a “Participant”) who are legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and are at least 18 years old at the time of submission. For more information, view the full Challenge rules.