The ARIAS 2024 - Categories

The Radio Academy ARIAS Categories 2024

Entries for the 2024 ARIAS are now open and close on Wednesday 7 February 2024.

The qualifying period from which entered material (audio, video & online content) may be drawn is: 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023. All entries must have been first broadcast or first-published within these dates.

You can download the full 2024 ARIAS Awards Guidelines and Criteria here.

The 2024 Categories are:

1. Best New Presenter
2. Best New Radio Show
3. Best New Podcast
4. Best Speech Presenter
5. Best Speech Breakfast Show
6. Best News Coverage
7. Best Sports Coverage
8. Best Coverage of an Event
9. The Comedy Award
10. Best Music Breakfast Show
11. Best Music Entertainment Show
12. Best Specialist Music Show
13. Best Music Special
14. Best Factual – Single Programme
15. Best Factual – Series
16. Best Drama
17. Best Audiobook or Reading
18. Best Station Sound
19. Best Commercial Partnership
20. Best Local Show
21. The Impact Award
22. The Creative Innovation Award
23. The Grassroots Award
24. Community Station of the Year
25. The John Myers Station of the Year Award
26. UK Station or Network of the Year
27. Radio Times Moment of the Year (voted by the public)

Audio Guidelines for most categories

The requirements are the same for all categories except the Breakfast Show
categories (5, 10), the Station of the Year categories (24, 25, 26) and The
Radio Times Moment of the Year (27):

The maximum length of audio is 15 minutes.
Audio can be either a continuous 15-minute excerpt from an
individual show, or a 15-minute compilation of extracts.
If the submission is a compilation, this should be of no more
than ten unedited extracts from the show, but these can be
taken from multiple editions of the show.
In the interests of creating a standardised, level-playing field for
entries, compilations should always be a simple playlist of
unedited extracts, faded in and out from a moment of silence.
Please do not use station imaging or FX to montage the
extracts, as these can be confused for broadcast material.
Extracts in the compilation should be pure editorial – recorded
music, adverts and trails should be faded in and out.

Audio Guidelines: for Radio Times Moment of the Year

The winners in this category are chosen through a public vote hosted by Radio Times, and any Radio Academy Member can nominate a favourite moment of audio first broadcast or published during the qualifying period. Members must not nominate content which they have created themselves.

Listen to previous winners here for an indication of relevant audio moments for this category.

If an audio file featuring the specific moment is available, we ask that it be cut down to approx. 2mins in length. However, a nomination can instead include a link to a publicly available source (eg the a full programme, or a social media clip).

Breakfast Show dates

For the Breakfast Show categories (4 and 9) your audio compilation can be up to 20 minutes long, and may contain up to 20 clips. It must feature at least 10 minutes from our specified day.

The audio compilation should be in two clear sections, with clips from the specified day first, and clips from the rest of the year second. The specified day for this year’s Breakfast Show entries is as follows:

Date 1 – 2nd Nov 2023 – The main date, which must be used if the regular team were presenting on that date.
Date 2 – 9th Nov 2023 – The backup date, which should only be used if the regular team were absent on Date 1.
Date 3 – 16th Nov 2023 – The final backup date, which should only
be used in extremis, if the regular team were absent on both Dates 1 and 2.
If you want to enter a Weekend Breakfast show, you may use the nearest broadcast day to the specified date (i.e., the following Saturday if the show is a weekend breakfast show, or the
following Sunday if it is a Sunday-only breakfast show).
In order that fair comparisons can be made, no other dates are allowable for these categories. You will be asked to provide written confirmation if you are forced to use Dates 2 or 3.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about The Radio Academy ARIAS, please email arias@radioacademy.org