IIFA Digital Content Awards Eligibility

The First Annual IIFA Digital Content Awards ceremony will be held as a part of the 25th IIFA Weekend.

This eligibility criteria set herewith are subject to change and IIFA reserves the right to adjust as necessary with notification to applicants. All entrants are recommended to read these in their entirety prior to filling out the submission forms.

Please contact the IIFA Industry Process team with any questions or clarification of rules and regulations as provided within this document or details on the entry submission form.

General Rules for eligibility
- To be eligible for consideration for an award eligible content must have been produced for and initially released and exhibited by means of online distribution between 1st January 2024 - 31st December 2024 and it must meet all other applicable requirements set within these terms & conditions and as applicable to the Award for which it is submitted.
- Eligible content does not need to have been produced during the eligibility period mentioned but must have been made initially available via online distribution for viewing by public during this period.
- Online distribution is defined as the delivery and distribution of content directly to consumers for online viewing on a streaming/OTT distribution platform, regardless of the physical device used by consumers for viewing.
- Any content that has been previously released, distributed, or exhibited in any other media, either before, during, or after the eligibility period specified above, will not be eligible. However, an exception applies to content that was premiered with a limited run of up to one showing at any festival before being featured on OTT platforms; such content may be considered eligible.
- The following types of content or material is not eligible for consideration, whether they were originally created for or exploited by means of online distribution:
  - Previews
  - Trailers
  - Sizzle reels.
  - Short films
  - Sequences from feature length films
  - Series/episodes of an established television series previously distributed for broadcast, pay per view, satellite, or cable television.
- To be eligible, all content must be in its original format in any Hindi language. Content that has been dubbed in Hindi will not qualify for entry. Additionally, the content must have been premiered and made available to all consumers within the Indian Territory.

The Entry Form Submission
- The submission for entry and application form must be duly completed and signed by the commissioning entity/streaming platform of the nominated film depending on rightsownership. If a producer/commissioning entity is filing in an application, it is their responsibility to inform the streaming platform of the entry and if required seek any approvals. The producer will be undertaking on behalf of the entire film production unit, which Awards are being applied for and will ensure that all the required paperwork and details are submitted as required.
- The form must be duly completed and signed by the producer/authorized signatory for the Production company/studio.
- By filing in this nomination form the producer agrees that IIFA will be the exclusive owner of all rights including but not limited to intellectual property rights and copyright in any audio and/or visual recording pertaining to the IIFA Digital Awards including the images, bytes, interviews, performances, footage of producer, director, nominees and winners as featured or recorded at any events or activities relating to the 2024 IIFA Weekend and IIFA Digital Awards. IIFA also has the right to use all afore mentioned content and footage in all medium or platforms including digital rights for the entire universe in perpetuity under the context of the IIFA Digital Awards brand.
- To complete the nomination entry process IIFA will require a copy of the official legal credits, which must be acknowledged and signed by the producer. They should include the following.
  - Full, legal, and authentic credits in a PDF format.
  - The name of the online streaming platform the content was distributed on.
  - The date of the release of the content online.
- It is a mandatory responsibility of the commissioning entity/producer to inform all cast and crew of film for the nominations being applied for at the IIFA Digital Awards.
- It is the responsibility of the commissioning entity/producer to ensure that nominees are present if they are nominated for any award categories, they would need to have them available to attend. In the case of absence of any nominee IIFA reserves the right to decide an alternative winner for that category.
- Eligibility for all award applications will be determined from the supplied credits that are certified to IIFA by the production company, but IIFA reserves the final rights for inclusion of any filed nomination in any category. IIFA is not bound by any contractual understanding or agreement relating to the sharing or giving of credit and reserves the final right to determine credibility for the purpose of award consideration.
- In the event of any dispute concerning credits, IIFA reserves the right to declare any submission or achievement ineligible or reject all claims to credits, list credits as being in controversy and withhold any Award presentation until the dispute is resolved.
- All submissions are final and cannot be withdrawn post the closing date of nominations as mentioned above.
- Any software requested for IIFA from the producers regarding the nominated content and/or award categories shall become the property of IIFA for the use of such footage as deemed suitable to fulfil the objectives of IIFA Digital Content Awards and related promotion and/or marketing.
- By submitting a nomination for the IIFA Awards, the entrant grants IIFA the rights to use clips, visual images, and songs from the content at IIFA's sole discretion. This includes the right to utilize the material for telecast, streaming, social media, and during on-ground events, without any further permissions required.

BALLOTING AND NOMINATIONS
- Final decisions on all achievements shall be carried out by the due process outlined below but maybe subject to alteration at the discretion of IIFA management and the IIFA Advisory Board:
  - Duly completed and processed entry forms to be received by IIFA by the deadline.
  - Select members of the digital content production and distribution industry will be invited by the IIFA Academy for IIFA Digital Awards voting process online.
  - List of eligible nominations will be published by IIFA post the audit completion of all entries and voting.
  - The list of final nominees for each award will be released on iifa.com and through a global media release.
  - Public voting shall be conducted via the internet post the final nominees being announced.
- All nominees voting and tabulation of final ballots shall be derived using a weighting average between industry and public voting and the process is audited by the independent auditors for IIFA. The public voting will take place with online public voting via iifa.com and/or any other platforms specified by IIFA at the time of announcement.
- In the event a nominated achievement is declared ineligible at any stage by IIFA, it won't be replaced, and the category will remain with one less nominee.
- It is the responsibility of the producer/studio to ensure the nominees in the categories submitted are available to attend the IIFA Awards ceremony. If a nominee is unable to attend the ceremony, then the nomination will be given to the next eligible person/s in that category.
- Only the eligible top two nominees per category will be hosted for travel, accommodation, and event invitation by IIFA for any award category. If there is more than one person in a team submission, then a maximum of two people will be permitted from that. Any additional members of a team or family/accompanying guests will be the responsibility of the nominee to arrange and provide and only IIFA seating will be provided subject to availability. Please note that additional attendees seating may not be in the same area as the nominee.
- If an award category winner has been achieved by two or more persons, each person shall receive a trophy.

Specific Category Criteria
1. Film - All film entries must meet the following criteria for nomination into the IIFA Digital Content Awards (unless otherwise specified for any Award category):
  - The film must be of feature length (this is defined as minimum 40 minutes duration).
  - Must release for Indian consumers in all Indian territories. Some exclusions may apply with final approval at the discretion of IIFA.
  - For a run of at least seven consecutive days
  - Series - All series entries must meet the following criteria for nomination into the IIFA Digital Content Awards (unless otherwise specified for any Award category):
    - Series are defined as a scripted, multi-part content with two or more episodes, and a total running duration of at least 120 minutes.
    - Must release for Indian consumers in all Indian territories. Some exclusions may apply with final approval at the discretion of IIFA.
    - For a run of at least seven consecutive days

Others
1. Best Non scripted series
  - Any series content in this category is content devoted primarily to entertain or entertain and be informative with unscripted dialogue.
  - The content follows unscripted ‘real life' situations that are continuously filmed or content where participants are put into an environment or format and then observed interacting by the producers.
  - This can include content that are subject to format rules, real life with significant production intervention or large-scale formats where the cast/participants are subject to performing elaborate tasks and/or often living together in a constructed universe or controlled environment.
  - Must release for Indian consumers as well for consumers in an international territory (referring to any territory outside the Indian sub-continent). Some exclusions may apply with final approval at the discretion of IIFA.
  - For a run of at least seven consecutive days
2. Best Docuseries/DocuFilm
  - This category will be defined as a nonfiction series or film dealing creatively and providing an in- depth analysis with culture, art, history, social, scientific, economic, or other subjects or point of view supported by evidence and/or informed commentary. It can either be produced in actual occurrence, or it may involve partial re-enactment, stock footage, stills, animation, stop-motion, or other techniques if the emphasis is on fact and not fiction.
  - For a docufilm it will need to be a minimum of 40 minutes duration.
  - For a docuseries it will need to consist of two episodes or more.
  - Must release for Indian consumers as well for consumers in an international territory (referring to any territory outside the Indian sub-continent). Some exclusions may apply with final approval at the discretion of IIFA.
  - For a run of at least seven consecutive days
3. Best Title Track (Series/show/film/documentary) -
  - This category is to honour the best original title track for any content released in any genre (series/film/documentary/non-scripted). The track should creatively encapsulate the production's theme.
  - The entry will be under the music director of the track.
4. The Special Honour - Industry Leadership Award
  - This prestigious award is introduced to add depth and significance to the ceremony by recognizing contributions and achievements that extend beyond what the public sees on screen.
  - It acknowledges the impactful work within digital streaming platforms and the individuals driving the growth of this industry.
  - The award is dedicated to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and influence within the digital streaming sector. This could include professionals from various departments within streaming platforms, such as content planning, production, digital marketing, PR, or technology.
  - To submit a nomination for this award, a nomination statement (up to 800 words) must be provided, which can be accompanied by visual content, such as images or videos, if relevant.
  - The nomination must be submitted by an authorized reporting authority, who will sign the form and confirm that the submission is approved by the individual's organization.
  - The recipient of this award will be selected by the IIFA management and advisory board.

Disclaimer

The final determination of all eligibility is in IIFA's sole discretion. Content and entry submission may be disqualified at any time without prior notification at IIFA's sole discretion. If IIFA determines, in its good faith judgement, that an eligible entry has been mistakenly or improperly submitted for the wrong award/s, IIFA reserves the right to submit the eligible content for the appropriate award/s at its sole discretion. This will be in addition to the award/s for which it was originally submitted and for which it will remain eligible. In such circumstances the signing authority on the application will have the right to decline the nomination within 10 business days of written notification.