ABS-CBNnews.com and iWantTV have recently won top honors during the 6th DigitalFilipino Web Awards, outshining some of the best websites and video-on-demand providers in the country.

ABS-CBNnews.com won in the Broadcast News Category while iWantTV came out on top in the Video-On-Demand Category.

The DigitalFilipino Awards is based on certain criteria such as search engine competitiveness, website traffic stickiness, technical performance, and social media engagement. DigitalFilipino.com – a community dedicated to e-commerce, internet research, and blogging – scanned local websites in 50 to 100 categories to determine the winners. No nominations or votes were required or solicited.

DigitalFilipino.com owner Janette Toral says this year’s awards recognize the changes with the way websites are being perceived now and how it’s valued. She says high quality and relevant content that can be easily shared through social media were given importance in this year’s awards.

It was a second win for ABS-CBNnews.com, which, in 2011, bagged an award for the Television News category in what was then called Digital Filipino Search Profile Index Web Awards.

For Toral, iWantTV illustrates the strategic integration of broadcast and mobile which contributed to its success.

“I think branding it made a big difference with iWantTV and sticking with it through the years,” says Toral. “Celebrities promoting it after every episode gave a strong recall. You have shown how it should be done. It has to be fully integrated in a television network’s programming and strengthened with mobile to make it more engaging to loyal followers.”

iWantTV is now available as an app through ABS-CBNmobile, a pioneering service that combines broadcasting and mobile telephony. This app is exclusively available to ABS-CBNmobile subscribers.

Toral adds: “The future of video-on-demand is very promising. It can pave the way for the creation of exclusive content or empower indie content creators to use your platform as a medium for releasing their work. Who knows, maybe iWantTV may also become a game publishing platform in the future.”

Carlo Katigbak, president of ABS-CBN Convergence Inc., which offers ABS-CBNmobile, says ABS-CBNmobile hopes to make video-on-demand easily available to more Filipinos now that smartphones are becoming more popular.

“We believe that the innovation that we offer will shape how Filipinos use their mobile phones. It’s not just about texting and calling anymore. It’s also about watching their favorite shows and enjoying premium content using their smartphones,” says Katigbak.

Anna Rodriguez, head of ABS-CBN’s News Digital Media, believes the awards reflect hard work and a keen understanding of how to deliver content.

“We are very honoured to have these awards, and we thank DigitalFilipino for recognizing our efforts in providing the content that our clients need and want,” says Rodriguez.

The 6th DigitalFilipino Web Awards were held at the Amphitheater of the Ateneo Graduate of School of Business in Makati. Elaine Uy, ABS-CBN’s Digital Media Division Head of Operations, and (designation) Ralph Menorca accepted the awards on behalf of ABS-CBN.