Awards
Reed MIDEM to honour Peter Orton with lifetime achievement award
MUMBAI: Reed MIDEM will honour HIT Entertainment founder and chairman Peter Orton with a Lifetime Achievement Award, at this year’s MIPTV featuring MILIA audiovisual and digital content market to be held in Cannes, 11 April – 15 April this year. Orton will receive the award in Cannes on April 13.
“Peter Orton’s reputation throughout the television industry is outstanding,” noted Paul Zilk, chief executive officer of Reed MIDEM. “He has turned HIT Entertainment into a champion of high-quality children’s television. He has been at the forefront of promoting children’s programming throughout the world and it’s a pleasure to be able to recognise Peter’s career with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”
“I am extremely grateful to Reed MIDEM for choosing me to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award. To be honoured by one’s peers is an extremely humbling but wonderful experience. HIT’s business, especially in the first 5 or 6 years, owes a huge debt of gratitude to Reed MIDEM. MIP and MIPCOM created and established an awareness of HIT that we could not have achieved if these two important television markets had not taken place. Our distribution and customer base was built to a large extent at these important markets. As we move into the digital age and the increasing importance of broadband, interactive and VOD, what were traditional television markets are adapting and becoming important venues to take our business into these exciting new areas,” said Orton.
As Chairman of HIT Entertainment, Peter Orton recently transformed the company into a vertically-integrated content owner and broadcaster. In December 2004, HIT Entertainment announced plans to launch a 24-hour digital pre-school channel in the United States, in partnership with leading U.S. cable provider Comcast, public broadcaster PBS and internationally-renowned provider of children’s programming Sesame Workshop. The new channel will begin broadcasting in September 2005, informs an official release.
In 1989, Orton launched HIT Entertainment, a British-based distribution company specialising in high-quality animation programming. Having built a children’s catalogue of over 1,000 hours of animation programming, HIT moved into production in 1996, funding the development via a launch on London’s Alternative Investment Market. HIT was responsible for bringing three much-loved children’s books to television and video – “Brambly Hedge,” “Percy the Park Keeper” and “Kipper.” Orton then gave the greenlight to start developing new characters in-house, including the international success “Bob the Builder.”
From a pure distribution company, HIT Entertainment has grown into a production entity, complete with its own animation studios, a major licensing, merchandising and consumer products provider and, starting in September 2005, will launch into the broadcasting business in the United States. HIT Entertainment continues to specialise in quality, pre-school children’s programming, the release added.
Awards
Ajay Kakar to chair jury for ad:tech Honours Awards 2026
Industry leaders join jury as nominations surge for marketing tech awards
NEW DELHI: The ad:tech Honours Awards 2026 are gearing up for a bigger second edition, with Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, set to chair the jury for India’s technology-focused marketing awards.
Organised in partnership with the International Advertising Association India Chapter, the awards celebrate the growing influence of technology in shaping modern advertising and marketing outcomes. This year’s edition has drawn a strong response from across the industry, signalling rising momentum around innovation in marketing technology.
The organisers say the nominations reflect a wide range of ideas and approaches, highlighting how brands and agencies are increasingly leaning on platforms, tools and data to sharpen their campaigns and connect with audiences more effectively.
Leading the evaluation process, Kakar will head a jury made up of senior leaders from across brands, agencies and technology platforms.
The jury panel includes Amaresh Godbole, CEO, digital technology business at Publicis Groupe; Bishwajeet S, head of marketing and PR at Volkswagen India; Carol Goyal, executive director at Rediffusion and CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab; Kushal Sanghvi, director at Komerz; Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World; Rana Barua, group CEO India, sea and North Asia; Deepak Oram, senior vice president growth marketing and martech; and Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, head of marketing and creative solutions at Amazon Ads India.
The ad:tech Honours Awards aim to recognise not just creative campaigns but the smart use of technology that delivers measurable impact and business results. Categories this year reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, data-driven marketing, content ecosystems, automation, martech and adtech integration, and commerce-led marketing.
The winners will be announced on 17 March 2026 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi during ad:tech New Delhi 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, creators and technology partners for an evening celebrating the ideas and innovations shaping the future of marketing.iconductor industries.
