INTO its 12th year, the Asian Television Awards (ATA) has expanded its reach to encompass 16 countries across Asia Pacific for the first time. Australia and New Zealand, having joined the chase for the coveted trophies this year, contributed to a record 1,374 submissions to make the 2007 awards the most competitive and comprehensive ever.Following seven grueling judging sessions across three months, pan-regional network Discovery Networks Asia, Singapore’s MediaCorp and Philippines’ GMA Network have emerged as ATA 2007’s front runners, earning the most nominations across the award’s 29 categories.Topping the ATA 2007 nomination count with 17 nominees in 10 categories is Discovery Networks Asia. Not only is the factual entertainment broadcaster leading the field, it has also improved on its 2006 record of 11 nominations in 7 categories, which made it the second most nominated broadcaster.“We are very clear about what our brands stand for and have strong editorial teams internally to translate this experience through our unique style of storytelling. That way we are able to create consistently high quality programming that is both informative and entertaining, given that we are first and foremost a television company,” said Vikram Channa, Vice President, Content, DiscoveryNetworks Asia, on the company’s standing in the ATA noms.