Ready to get your hands into digital apps development? The Internet & Television Expo Show (INTX), in partnership with Comcast/NBCUniversal and Gracenote/Tribune Media, is hosting the first ever INTXHACK, a 24-hour hackathon competition for technologists and developers, in Chicago in May.
Teams of developers, designers and content creators are challenged "to rethink the future of digital entertainment," INTX said. They must create, from scratch, apps that sit at the intersection of the Internet and entertainment, and dovetail with the rebranded cable show's themes: TV Everywhere, online video, gaming, connected life, advanced user interfaces and navigation.
Competitors will have access to the latest APIs, tools, data and content from a long list of leading tech, media and entertainment companies, including the sponsoring partners, INTX said.
The live competition kicks off on May 2 at Chicago's digital start-ups hub, 1871. The hackers will have 24 hours to complete their entries. Judges will be looking for apps that innovate new ways to produce, present and experience TV, movies, games and other digital entertainment, INTX said.
The selected top teams will move on to the expo for the INTXHACK Finals, where they'll compete for cash prizes on May 6 during a one-hour live segment in Imagine Park — the "innovation events" stage located in the INTX Marketplace.
Finalists will also be featured in a special INTX showcase exhibit, gaining visibility among media, entertainment and investment executives to whom they can pitch their ideas. That, in turn, underscores the goal of the hackathon: to showcase the latest in interactive design and development, providing hackers access to top Internet and television companies at INTX and inside 1871, INTX said.
For more information on the competition and to register, visit the INTXHACK website (which also includes details for companies interested in becoming partners). On Twitter, follow the hashtag #INTXhack.
INTX, billed as "The Cable Show -- reimagined" by sponsor the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, runs May 5-7 at the Windy City's McCormick Place West.
