The big moment has finally arrived. After combing through hundreds of submissions, we are proud to announce the results of IPTV Evangelist's first-annual IPTV Top 50. We would like to thank everyone who participated and to congratulate those whose names adorn our list.

You will note that all the usual suspects are there, along with more than a few surprises. For a brief explanation on how we arrived at our results and ordering, please see our explanation at the end of the list. In the meantime, let the water-cooler debate begin!

50 Fernando Fernandez - Founder & CEO, Eye Music Network (http://www.eyemusicnetwork.com)
49 Jay Amato - CEO, Personal Screen Media (http://www.personalscreen.com)
48 Cory Bergman - Founder/Editor, Lost Remote (http://www.lostremote.com/)
47 Tracy Swedlow - President/Editor-in-Chief, Interactive TV Today (http://www.itvt.com)
46 Kent Nichols- Founder, Ask A Ninja Video Blog (http://askaninja.com)
45 Brian Dolan - Editor, FierceIPTV (http://www.fierceiptv.com)
44 Gary Vaynerchuk - Host, Wine Library TV (http://tv.winelibrary.com)
43 Steve Garfield - Video Blogger (http://stevegarfield.blogs.com)
42 Andy Plesser - Founder, Beet TV Blog (http://www.beet.tv)
41 Irina Slutsky - Founder, Geek TV (http://www.geekentertainment.tv)
40 Jonny Goldstein - Founder, Reinventing TV (http://reinventingtv.phovi.com)
39 Curtis Sund - TVOverNet (http://www.tvover.net)
38 J. Chris Wagner - EVP/Co-Founder, NeuLion (http://www.neulion.com)
37 Robert Petty - Chairman & CEO, ROO TV (http://www.roo.com)
36 Robert Millis - Founder, American Microphone (http://www.americanmicrophone.com)
35 Jerry Qin - Founder, Gridfold (http://www.gridfold.com)
34 Frank Chindamo - CEO, Fun Little Movies (http://www.funlittlemovies.com)
33 Colin Dixon - Chief IP Analyst, The Diffusion Group (http://www.tdgresearch.com/)
32 Haggai Barel - CEO, Orca (http://www.orcainteractive.com)
31 Greg Masom - Chairman, Amino Technologies (http://www.aminocom.com)
30 Gary Brolsma - Creator, Numa Numa Dance (http://newnuma.com/)
29 Tom Steinert-Threlkeld - Editor-in-Chief, Multichannel News (http://www.multichannelnews.com)
28 Stephen Saunders - Editor/Founder, LightReading.com (http://www.lightreading.com)
27 Richard Lindner - CTO, AT&T (http://www.atandt.com)
26 Tom Green - Host/Founder, TomGreen.com (http://www.tomgreen.com)
25 Bree - Main Character, LonelyGirl15 Video Blog (http://www.lonelygirl15.com/?p=135&play=1)
24 Mika Salmi - President, Global Digital Media, MTV Networks (http://www.mtv.com/)
23 Dan Thompson - CEO, VideoJug (http://www.videojug.com)
22 Jay Adelson - CEO, Revision3/Digg (www.revision3.com)
21 Tim Tuttle - VP, AOL (http://www.aol.com)
20 Dan Rayburn - EVP, Streaming Media.com (http://www.streamingmedia.com)
19 Al Gore - Founder, Current TV (http://www.current.tv)
18 Richard Lazar - CEO, FiOS (http://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/)
17 Brad Inman - Founder & CEO, Turn Here (http://www.turnhere.com)
16 Joanna Drake Earl - President, Strategic Partnerships & Online Studio, Current TV (http://www.current.tv)
15 Ramu Potarazu – CEO, Broadstream (http://www.broadstream.com)
14 Blake Krikorian - Co-Founder, Sling Media (http://www.slingmedia.com)
13 Brian Roberts - Chairman & CEO, Comcast (http://www.comcast.com)
12 Steven Starr - CEO, Revver (http://one.revver.com/revver)
11 Eric Ameres - Chief Technical Officer & Executive Vice President, On2 (http://www.on2.com)
10 Serge Tchuruk - CEO, Alcatel (http://www.alcatel.com)
9 John Chambers – CEO & President, Cisco (http://www.cisco.com)
8 Mike Hudack - Founder, Blip.tv (http://www.blip.tv)
7 Brian Conley - Founder, Alive In Baghdad (http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org)
6 Thomas McInerney - Co-Founder & CEO, Guba (http://www.guba.com)
5 Andrew Baron - Founder, Rocketboom (http://www.rocketboom.com)
4 Jeff Pulver - Technology Guru/IPTV Advocate (http://network2.tv)
3 Amanda Congdon - Founder/Host, Amanda Across America (http://www.amandacongdon.com/america)
2 Jeremy Allaire - CEO, BrightCove (http://www.brightcove.com)
1 Chad Hurley - Co-Founder, YouTube (http://www.youtube.com)

NOTE FROM THE EDITORS:

So how did we arrive at our results? Well, the fact is that we simply collated and organized the submissions we received. If you think that you or someone you know was wrongfully omitted, please drop us a line at editors@iptvevanglist.com

We are the first to admit that we were more than a bit surprised by the sheer volume and diversity of nominees. Not only did our readers provide a who’s who of individuals who are leading the IPTV and Online Video Revolution from the corner office, they also named many top thinkers in this red-hot area and the creators of truly engaging and challenging broadband content.

Who knew that rapid-fire reposting of political gaffs and Keith Olbermann rants would mean so much to so many people? And Gary Brolsma? Who could’ve predicted that our highbrow and intelligent readers would also cop to loving the techno-powered, chair-dancing antics of one of the most infectious viral videos in IPTV history?

Big shout-out as well to all the Tom Green fans who saw to it that the man who truly invented short-form, online comedy video got his due, particularly in light of the fact that he’s now hosting a nightly vidcast over at the domain that bears his name.

On a more serious note, we are also glad that the people who track the wires and networking aspect of IPTV weighed in. Richard Lazar, CEO, FiOS; Richard Lindner, CTO, AT&T; Serge Tchuruk, CEO, Alcatel – glad to see you folks made it. Our list would truly be lacking without you.

Of course, we would be lying if we said that we weren’t overjoyed that fellow New Yorkers Mike Hudack, Founder, Blip.tv and J. Chris Wagner, EVP/Co-Founder, NeuLion, are representing for the Big Town, which has a lot more going on than old-line traditional, low-tech industries like fashion and publishing.

Finally, we have to admit that we are probably as surprised as you are that YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley secured the number-one spot, especially since YouTube is not about delivering IPTV content, at least not in its current form. If we were to guess, we would have to chalk it up to media exposure and that millions of future IPTV customers are amongst its users base.