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Networks Partner With NYTVF to Kick Off Fall Season

Opening night at last year's New York Television Festival
Opening night at last year's New York Television Festival
Photo: Courtesy of New York Television Festival

Now in its fourth year, the New York Television Festival once again takes over the New World Stages this week for six days of independent pilot screenings, industry symposiums, cocktail receptions, and red-carpet premieres of new and returning fall series.

The programming kicks off tonight when ABC series producers such as Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry give a preview of the network’s upcoming programming. Sandwiched between tonight’s opening and Wednesday’s closing festivities are four thematic days focusing on student-created television, production and development, the evolution of the industry, and the medium’s expansion into the digital arena.

Shifting financial dynamics in the wake of the writers strike and this year’s unconventional pilot season and upfronts have also prompted one network to partner with the festival to harvest new talent. Fox announced a contest in the spring for aspiring comedy writers to win $25,000 and a development deal with the network. A panel of judges selected 25 finalists based on their scripts for half-hour comedy pilots, and the winner will be announced at the NYTVF award ceremony on Wednesday night.

Though founded as a means for the industry to recognize independent television and new voices in the community, NYTVF has benefited greatly from the timing of the new television season. After successfully launching shows like Pushing Daisies last season, the festival is slated to give red-carpet premieres to CBS’s Worst Week, HBO’s The Life & Times of Tim, and the second season of NBC’s Life over the course of the week. All three of those networks, as well as Fox and ABC, are also sponsors of the festival, which more than doubled its roster of sponsorships for its 2008 outing.