MTV Sri Lanka’s News 1st has been recognised at the 2026 Asiavision Awards, presented on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s Global News Forum in Sydney, hosted by ABC Australia.
News 1st reported the honour as a “Special Jury Award”, citing recognition of its dedication, commitment and contribution to excellence in news coverage.
The ABU’s own announcement describes the category slightly differently. The union says the Asiavision Jury Award was presented, “in recognition of continuous dedication and contributions to news coverage excellence”, to five broadcasters: TVRI Indonesia, MTRK Uzbekistan, MTV Sri Lanka, KBS South Korea and FBC Fiji. The awards drew more than 300 entries and were judged by an independent panel.
Who else won
The biggest winner was TVB Hong Kong, which took both Breaking News and News Story of the Year for its coverage of the Tai Po fire at Wang Fuk Court.
CMG China won the Frontier award for reporting on the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon. The Global Impact category went to two entries — NHK Japan, for coverage of Palestinians returning home, and VTV Vietnam, for Vietnamese doctors saving lives in Angola. TRT Türkiye took the Universal Voice award for a story on a disabled teacher in Gaza.
Host broadcaster ABC Australia won twice: the Digital Vanguard award for reporting on the bystander who disarmed the Bondi gunman, and a Green Horizon award for a feature on scientists’ hopes for Palau’s “super corals”. CNA Singapore was also recognised in Green Horizon, for a report on heat-reflective public housing.
Warissara Sae-han of Thai PBS received the Rising Star award, and DD India won National Reporting for documenting how women in Assam turned an invasive weed into a livelihood. The ABU News Director Award went to Monica Enriquez Lachica of ABS-CBN Philippines.
This year’s forum ran under the theme “Resilient Journalism: Safeguarding Truth and Wellbeing”. The ABU is one of the world’s largest broadcasting associations, with 224 member organisations across 66 countries and territories.
