A comedy show about the behind-the-scenes reality of a high-end restaurant and two series based on the best-selling Slovenian crime novels were the most watched content on Slovenian cable TV last year, with ratings rivalling foreign content.

The most watched episode of Ja, Chef (Yes, Chef), produced by Pro Plus as an adaption of the Russian show Kitchen, recorded almost 273,000 viewers.

The crime series Leninov Park (Lenin Park) produced by RTV Slovenija came second with over 256,000 viewers of the first episode, while Dolina Rož (Valley of Flowers), the sequel to Lenin Park, was third with over 243,000 watching the first episode. Both are based on the best-selling books by Slovenian crime author Tadej Golob.

In addition to the Orion stars, AIPA also presented jury-selected awards, including for the acting performances by Jurij Zrnec and Katarina Čas in Ja, Chef, and Saša Tabakovič for his performance in Dolina Rož.

The awards were handed out on 25 May by AIPA, an collective rights management organisation representing audiovisual artists.

Film maker Metod Pevec, one of the initiators of the AIPA awards, said the awards, called the Orion Stars, help combat the prejudice that Slovenian audiovisual works are not watched or watchable.

He hopes policymakers will take into account statistics which show higher viewership of domestic shows compared to news programmes when making future changes to copyright legislation, which should be more flexible and promote creativity.

Gregor Štibernik, the director of AIPA, said the organisation opted for a measurable award to showcase the works that resonate most with viewers.

Considering the statistics for foreign works, he noted that 270,000 viewers was a commendable number.