The 7th annual ASTRA Awards have been held at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter, with MCN represented channels scoring a swag of awards.

MCN’s national sales and marketing director Damian Keogh indicates the ASTRA Awards have grown to become a significant event in Australia’s media calendar, with this year’s awards highlighting the depth and breadth of content being created exclusively for Australia’s Subscription Television industry.

“The ASTRA Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the talent within the subscription TV industry – those in front of and behind the camera. Last night’s wins really demonstrate how far we’ve come as an industry in the past decade – subscription TV now delivers more first run content than any of the free-to-air networks each and every week,” says Keogh.

2009 ASTRA Award winners:

• Channel of the Year – Nickelodeon

• Favourite Female Personality – Ruby Rose, MTV

• Favourite Male Personality – Merrick & Rosso, The Comedy Channel

• Most Outstanding Use of Subscription TV Medium for a Consumer Advertising Campaign – The Lifestyle Channel Westfield with Trinny & Susannah

• Most Creative On-Air Program Promotion – Crime and Investigation Network Meth Epidemic

• Most-creative off-air program production – Nation Geographic Channel America’s Hardest Prisons

• Favourite program – The Lifestyle Channel’s Selling Houses

• Favourite International Program – The Lifestyle Channel’s Grand Designs (Series 6)

• Favourite International Personality or Actor – The Lifestyle Channel Gordon Ramsay

• Favourite Male Personality – The Comedy Channel Merrick and Rosso

• Most Outstanding Children’s Program – Nickelodeon Camp Orange: The Curse of the Evil Eye

• Most Outstanding Music Program or Coverage – MAX Masters: Coldplay

• Most Outstanding Sports Program – Fox 8 An Aussie Goes Bolly

• Most Outstanding Sports Coverage – Fuel TV Bowl-a-Rama

• Most Outstanding Documentary – The History Channel Beyond Kokoda

• Most Outstanding News Program or Coverage – Sky News Business Global Financial Crisis

• Most Outstanding Lifestyle Program – The Lifestyle Channel Selling Houses Australia

• Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program – Arena TV’s Project Runway

• Most Outstanding Drama – Showcase Satisfaction (Series 2)

• Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Female – Showcase Alison Whyte

• Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter – FOX Sports 3 Brendon Julian

• Most Outstanding Performance by a Broadcast Journalist – Sky News Australia David Speers

• Most Outstanding Use of Technology (consumer application) – Channel V MySpace Mixed Tape.