New York Television Festival Announces NBC Universal, Fox And MTV Networks as Official Network Sponsors for Inaugural Independent TV Festival

New York Television Festival Announces NBC Universal, Fox And MTV Networks as Official Network Sponsors for Inaugural Independent TV Festival

NBC Universal, FOX, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1 And VH1 Classic Sign on to Sponsor Landmark TV Festival to Be Held This Fall

Arrested Development to Screen at First Independent Television Festival

NEW YORK, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Television Festival (NYTVF), presented in association with TV Guide, has reached sponsorship agreements with NBC Universal, FOX Broadcasting Company and MTV Networks to become Official Network Sponsors of the inaugural 2005 festival. The new sponsorships enable NBC Universal, FOX and MTV Networks divisions, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1 and VH1 Classic to join (in association with sponsor) TV Guide, A&E Networks, and Rainbow Media's AMC, IFC and WE as official sponsors of the first ever New York Television Festival.

"The Festival is thrilled with the opportunity to work with NBC Universal, FOX and MTV Networks in our inaugural year," said Terence Gray, founder and executive director of the New York Television Festival. "Taken together, these networks reach a highly desirable audience of young, savvy viewers who have demonstrated an interest in unconventional, cutting-edge programming. These audiences not only reflect the spirit of creative innovation the festival is looking to establish, but also comprise many of the artists who will shape the industry in the future."

"NBC Universal is pleased to sponsor this event," says Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment. "We believe it's important to support non- traditional forums like the New York Television Festival in their efforts to cultivate the next generation of innovative storytellers."

One of the featured events at this year's festival will be centered around the Emmy-winning comedy Arrested Development. On Saturday, October 1st, the festival will screen an episode of the critically acclaimed show, presenting it as a model of the type of innovative programming the festival is seeking to promote in its artists.

"Scouting and nurturing new voices constantly ranks as FOX's top priority," says Craig Erwich, Executive Vice President, Programming for FOX Broadcasting Company. "We're pleased to be participating in the first New York Television Festival, which shares our commitment to fostering creativity, unique storytelling and truly innovative television."

"We are very excited to be a sponsor of the first New York Television Festival," said Doug Herzog, president, Comedy Central and Spike TV. "This is a forum that celebrates, encourages and promotes creative television programming; innovation and risk-taking are the hallmarks of our original programming success at Comedy Central, Spike TV and all the MTV Networks."

With TV Land, the festival has established a unique partnership that will provide NYTVF with clips of some of television's most unforgettable moments, classic commercials, the network's original interstitial comedy series "60 Second Sitcoms," as well as two upcoming originals from TV Land Productions. Additionally, TV Land will serve as the Festival's exclusive sponsor of the spectacular open space on the second floor of Milk Studios that will serve as the main screening room.

The festival is adopting an innovative approach in its design concept for its screening rooms to create a unique, viewer-friendly experience for audiences. Screening rooms will be designed to resemble spacious living rooms, individually branded and decorated along with network sponsors, to recreate the intimacy of watching television in your own home. NBC Universal, FOX, MTV Networks, A&E Networks and Rainbow Media will feature their own specially designed screening rooms within the impressive gallery space of Phillips, de Pury and Company, located in the same building as Milk.

The NYTVF will be working with one of New York's most exclusive locations, the Soho House, as an industry venue. The members-only club, located in the heart of the Meatpacking District, will host special events for the festival and will serve as a featured venue for the NYTVF's breakfast panel discussions series.

Launching on September 28th, the NYTVF will pioneer the movement of "independent television" and construct a new path for program development. In its Independent Pilot Competition, aspiring writers, directors and producers are selected through a national and international grassroots search and given the unprecedented opportunity to showcase their originally produced pilots directly to network and cable executives.

August 1st marked the deadline for submissions to the first-ever NYTVF Independent Pilot Competition. The response from television artists exceeded the expectations of festival organizers, as the festival received over 225 pilots from aspiring television makers all over the U.S. and abroad. From this pool of submissions, Official Selections for competition will be chosen in each of five categories: comedy, drama, reality, documentary and animation. September 29th and 30th the first two full days of the festival, will be structured as a business marketplace where executives, producers, agents etc. can attend industry-only screenings, parties, charity events and panel discussions. The NYTVF has established a deal to have Soho House host industry-only panel discussions on topics such as the debate of scripted television versus reality TV and television production in New York City.

On the evening of September 30th, the NYTVF will begin welcoming the general public for a weekend of screenings, open casting calls, parties and special interactive events for people of all ages. Additionally, the festival will invite the public to attend panel discussions on topics with a broader interest, such as its "Breaking into the Business" series featuring seminars on how to launch a career in television.

Industry Passes and Packages are on-sale now by calling 1-866-698-8389 or 212-404-2860. For more information visit us online at http://www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com/ or call 1-866-698-8389.

Source: New York Television Festival

CONTACT: Amy Glickman, +1-212-843-8063, or aglickman@rubenstein.com, or Rachael Vollaro, +1-212-843-8046, or rvollaro@rubenstein.com, or Gretchen Wagner, +1-212-843-8076, or gwagner@rubenstein.com, all of Rubenstein Communications

Web site: http://www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com/

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