According to numerous sources, there was something fishy about this year’s BAFTA TV Awards. ‘The Crown’ fans were cheering for their beloved show that was nominated in 5 different categories, only to be disappointed by the result: The Crown won 0 awards.

What’s the big deal?

According to a leading director, the chat in the industry was that The Crown was something really special. The whole matter might have gone unnoticed if the show won at least one of the awards, and it was nominated for best leading actress, best supporting actress, best drama and twice for best supporting actor. BAFTA judges decided that the best drama award should go to Happy Valley (for the second time) and the best actress title to its star Sarah Lancashire instead. The Crown was over-looked.

A Successful Night for the Beeb

It so happened that 19 out of 25 awards went to the BBC – which leaves many wondering would The Crown have won if it were a BBC production? And why wasn’t it?

The BBC had actually planned to share this show with Netflix – but that scenario turned out to be too expensive. Some could not help but wonder if this is some kind of retribution for Netflix – and if it is, it sure makes the BBC look like a sore loser. When contacted, Netflix representatives refused to comment!

Now, some might think that this sort of a decision is justified – after all, BAFTA jurors were only supporting nationally broadcasted shows. However, is this really the way to do it – by holding a biased award ceremony?

When you think about it, it actually does more harm than good to everyone involved. The BAFTA’s credibility is now questionable, The Crown got unnecessary bad publicity, and their fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouth.

Of course, the thought that The Crown wasn’t really that great a show might cross some people’s minds. But, why then was it nominated for five different BAFTA awards? And why has Claire Foy won a Golden Globe for best actress? This ridiculous scenario could actually harm BAFTA’s reputation more than any of the other parties involved.

Is This Sort of Thing Really That Dangerous to an Awards Event’s Credibility?

It is, because as soon as any external factor affects the judging process, it becomes obvious that there is no point in competing – the decision has already been made.

When reading this story, I was immediately drawn to thinking about our partners, The Customer Experience Awards, and the way they organise their judging. Their scoring methodology and criteria are endorsed by Cranfield, the leading international business school. Apart from that, their judging process is transparent – the criteria and process is there on their website for everyone to see and there is certainly no chance of any external factors affecting the judges’ decision. The judges are independent business men and women, who apply to judge, whose CVs and credentials are validated and checked for any potential conflict of interest.

“And that is the basis for any competion– objectivity, clarity and a guaranteed fair judging process. Only when these criteria are fulfilled, an awards event can hope to further build its reputation”. – Says Neil Skehel, CEO of Awards International, the operators of the UK Customer Experience Awards.

The UK Customer Experience Awards is now in its 9th year. Despite their continuously growing reputation and the fact that The UKCXA is already the biggest and most compelling customer experience event in the world, their organisers have taken a few risks but consider it vital to ensure the judging process is robust and credible.

“Removing objectivity from the judging process will hurt any awards, and especially business awards” – Skehel adds.

Reputation isn’t something once obtained and yours to keep forever – unless you keep working on it. Respecting each entrant equally is a must for the UKCXA – from large companies such as Virgin Money, Microsoft and Barclays, to each and every SME that enters the awards.

When it comes to the awards events, glamour is nothing if you can’t have fairness. Fortunately, at The Customer Experience Awards, you can have both. Find out more here.

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