A brief history of the UK Channel Awards

With just over a month until the Channel Awards entry deadline is upon us, have a look at how they started, and some of the ups and downs along the way

Keeping an awards event going for over 30 years is no mean feat, but the CRN UK Channel Awards are still going strong, and that is largely down to its independent judging process.

The UK Channel Awards were originally launched in 1993 and initially started out as a lunchtime event because the editorial and sales teams were unsure if people would want to enter or attend.

Within two years it had become an evening event with an increasing number of channel firms entering, and it was christened the Channel Oscars.

For the first 10 years, the awards were decided by a voting system that almost caused its downfall, because it came to be seen as rigged, and ended up as being extremely unpopular with the industry.

While there was a panel of industry experts that met face-to-face and decided the shortlist, that shortlist was then opened up to a voting system, where winners were awarded trophies based on the number of votes they received.

Companies could basically buy votes, by running promos among customers and partners, and a whole company would submit individual votes for their preferred company - some employed hundreds of people, all submitting a vote. At one point, certain companies were winning five out of seven awards in their category. Audience numbers were down and the reputation, possibly even the future of the awards was starting to suffer.

Fast forward 20 years, and the awards now get over 1,200 attendees at the event each year and it is one of the most highly anticipated events in the UK channel calendar.

It has taken many years, but the accusations of the awards being a ‘fix’ are now barely even heard. Everybody knows - even though some may not like to admit it - that they can only win a Channel Award based on merit.

So how did we get to this point?

Simply by completely overhauling the judging and entry process to the two staged, independently-judged system that it is today.

The criteria were completely rewritten for each category, and every year, following feedback from the industry, the categories are changed/tweaked or even eliminated according to demand.

There are two panels of judges comprised of industry experts - the first panel, made up of independent channel consultants, analysts and journalists, select the shortlist.

The shortlisted entries are then passed onto the second panel of judges - split into Vendor, Distributor, Reseller and General levels, each with their own head judge. Our judges are from vendor, reseller or distributor backgrounds, but none are allowed to judge a rival’s entry - so no vendor will judge another vendor, distributor another distributor, or reseller another reseller.

Scores are given to every entry based purely on the quality of entry - it matters not what money they spend with CRN or how big they are in the market. If the entry is not good enough, they will not win.

We even have five awards categories where companies must stand in front of the judging panel on Judging day and explain in person why they deserve to win the award. Each category is heavily contested, and it has become a real battleground, but also a great insight into the innovation and brilliance of the channel.

Anyone who claims that the awards are a fix are always invited to join the judging panel. The whole process is completely transparent. These people soon become the biggest advocates of the awards. The judging panels are constantly evolving every year with new judges being added. The more the merrier.

In 2023 we celebrated 30 years of the UK Channel Awards at an event that was bigger, better and more well received than ever. This year we are 32 and still going strong.

Other rival awards have been and gone, but none have lasted as long in the UK as the Channel Awards.

These awards belong to the channel, they are powered by the channel and only exist because the channel truly believes in the independence of the process, and the value winning an award can bring. It is a legacy we at CRN are very proud of, and we are looking forward to the next 30 years.

But we can only keep them going with YOUR support. If you don’t enter, then the awards won’t run. It really is that simple. We have seen some categories suffer from a lack of entries in recent years, quite likely impacted by socio-economic reasons, but also because some companies feel they are unlikely to win or have nothing to shout about.

There is ALWAYS something to shout about and to celebrate as a team. Give it a go. You may surprise yourself.

To read all the criteria and categories for 2025, please click here. The deadline for entries is Friday 27 June. The very best of luck to you all!