FOX-NYTVF Announce Comedy Script Contest

NEW YORK: Fox Broadcasting Company and Procter & Gamble Productions have teamed up with the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) to launch the second FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest, which offers aspiring television writers a chance at $25,000 and a development deal with FOX.

The hopefuls can enter their scripts for original half-hour comedy TV pilots, and the winning entry will automatically receive consideration to be produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. Scripts must present an original idea for a potential half-hour comedy series. Opening date for submissions is June 1.

A screening committee of NYTVF officials will narrow the pool of entries down to 25 finalists. The selected entries will be presented to FOX and Procter & Gamble Productions development executives, and one winner will be selected to receive $25,000 and a development deal with the network. The fifth annual NYTVF will be held September 21-26.

“A major goal of the New York Television Festival has always been to provide opportunities for new and talented voices to be heard by the TV industry, and this year’s Comedy Script Contest is a revolutionary step toward that goal,” said NYTVF’s founder, Terence Gray. “We are honored to be working with innovators such as FOX and Procter & Gamble Productions on a project that continues to represent an exciting and unprecedented alternative to the existing network television development model.”

“FOX has been a proud supporter of the NYTVF for five years running,” commented Kevin Reilly, the president of entertainment for the network. “This contest, now in its second year, is a marker of our commitment to reaching beyond traditional avenues to discover new voices and to shake up the comedy development process. In fact, we are currently in preproduction on a pilot to be produced by Ben Stiller and written by Kevin Napier, a NYTVF Fellowship recipient.”

“Now in our third year as a Signature Sponsor, we are proud to continue our support of the NYTVF,” added Brian T. Cahill, the senior VP and managing director of TeleNext Media, which manages production of soap operas and other television and new-media content for Procter & Gamble Productions. “Building on our relationship with the NYTVF, we’re thrilled to be able to partner with FOX on a project that incorporates both the production and the distribution of a new comedy series.”