New Partners On Board for New York TV Festival

NEW YORK: Comedy Central, E!, Spike, Syfy and VH1 are among the new partners to join the roster for the upcoming New York Television Festival (NYTVF).

The event kicks off September 20, set to welcome more than 200 official artists through September 24 in its seventh year running. During the week of the festival, there are a series of artist- and industry-only events designed to efficiently facilitate interaction between the two groups, and coordinated by festival organizers. The NYTVF Development Day, presented by ION Television will see aspiring creators and fans access to free panels and events about the creation of television. Confirmed panelists include: Scott Adsit (30 Rock, Adult’s Swim’s Moral Orel and Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole), Jon Glaser (Adult Swim’s Delocated), Banks Tarver (co-founder and co-president of Left/Right, Inc.), Jason Hodes (William Morris Endeavor), Omri Marcus (creative director at ProSiebenSat.1/Red Arrow Entertainment Group) and Jim Biederman (executive producer of The Whitest Kids You Know, Onion News Network, Michael and Michael Have Issues, The Tom Green Show).

This year, the NYTVF will be awarding more guaranteed development deals than any other year since the organization was founded. NYTVF Pitch was launched with partners Sundance Channel, MSN and SevenOne International. For the fourth consecutive year, FOX is on board for the FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Content. A&E is leading an unscripted development pipeline, with five finalists to receive a deal with the network and one winner earning $10,000 and the opportunity to participate in the creation of a network pilot based on their concept. The Independent Pilot Competition has awards sponsored by IFC (Out of the Box Award), FX (There is No Box Award), MTV (Voice and Vision Animated Awards) and Syfy Digital Studio (Imagine Greater Award).

“The interaction between independent artists and industry decision makers is a central tenet of the NYTVF and, I believe, most artistic festivals; however, we’ve had to evolve the way in which we serve both groups to more effectively complement the television development process,” said NYTVF’s founder and executive director, Terence Gray. “By creating efficiency for our partners and instituting a record number of deals for our artists, we’re hoping to foster an environment of success for all parties involved. The NYTVF relies on the tremendous support of our industry partners and the artistic strength of our community and I’m very excited for what looks to be a great Festival next week.”