SilverCash was named Affiliate Network of the Year, while LightspeedCash took home honors for Affiliate Program of the Year at the fifth annual XBiz Awards, which took place Thursday night in the heart of Hollywood.
Held at the Highlands Club in the Hollywood & Highland plaza—just doors down from the Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards—the awards show served as the capper to two full days of seminars, workshops, master classes, and networking opportunities that were part of the 2007 XBiz Industry Conference. Honoring both on- and offline studios and companies, the awards represented excellence in an industry that continues to evolve, as traditional video companies merge with the Internet.
The awards show was hosted by industry starlet Tera Patrick and adult entertainment personality Jim Henley, and presenters included an array of familiar industry faces: Jenna Haze, Mary Carey, Jason Seachrest, and Sunny Lane, among others.
Aside from awards for excellence in content, affiliate programs, and billing, special honors were bestowed upon individuals and companies singled out for noteworthy achievements. Model-journalist-businesswoman Joanna Angel was the recipient of an award for Crossover Move of the Year, while industry attorney Jeffrey Douglas was singled out for an Honorary Legal award. His colleague, Greg Piccionelli, also received an ASACP Service Recognition statuette for his contributions to keeping adult content away from minors, while the Free Speech Coalition's Diane Duke presented HotMovies with an award for Netizen of the Year.
The show lasted slightly less than two hours and featured a "halftime" performance from exotic dance troupe Best Kept Secret. At the end of the show, emcee Henley launched into a rant in which he said, "All night long I've been hearing people say, 'I'm not part of that side of the industry.' That's [not true]; if you're in the adult entertainment industry, you're part of all of it. It's time the two sides of the industry—video and the Internet—came together to make money."
Other winners of the night included:
Innovative Product of the Year: AdultWhosWho
Affiliate Network of the Year: SilverCash
Affiliate Program of the Year: LightspeedCash
VOD Company of the Year: NakedSword
Novelty Company of the Year: California Exotic Novelties
Design Company of the Year: WyldeSites
Live Video Chat of the Year: Camz.com
Web Retailer of the Year: WantedList
Online Dating Site of the Year: IwantU
GLBT Company of the Year: Cybersocket
Mobile Company of the Year: WaatMedia
Online Community of the Year: JustBlowMe
Adult Site of the Year: TheBestPorn
Up-and-Coming Web Company: TrafficGigolos
Content Provider of the Year: WorldWideContent
Web Host of the Year: NationalNet
Studio of the Year: Digital Playground
Up-and-Coming Studio of the Year: Jules Jordan Video
Billing Services (PSP): Epoch
Billing (Merchant Services): Netbilling
Billing (Alternative): PasswordByPhone
Crossover Move of the Year: Joanna Angel
Honorary Legal: Jeffrey Douglas
ASACP Service Recognition: Greg Piccionelli
FSC Netizen of the Year: HotMovies
Businessman of the Year: Kevin Ho, TopBucks
Businesswoman of the Year: Samantha Lewis, Digital Playground
