The New York Television Festival will feature 28 original TV pilots during its upcoming Independent Pilot Competition.
Submitted by independent producers from around the world, the pilots will be showcased for industry executives and TV fans at the third annual New York Television Festival, which will be held Sept. 5-9 at New World Stages in New York City.
Officials at NYTVF, whose sponsors include MSN, Xbox and Procter & Gamble Productions and network backers include A&E, Bravo, E! Entertainment, NBC Universal, Fox and ABC, said the competition included pilots created by the writers and producers from The Daily Show and Full House, while others include performers that have appeared in such series fare as The Sopranos, Party of Five and Saturday Night Live, and theatricals Ghostbusters and Office Space.
The pilots will be available to view online at MSN Video starting Sept. 5.
Recent pilots that debuted at NYTVF and were sold to major networks include: the scripted comedy Split the Difference to NBC Universal Television Studios; the improv comedy pilot Criss-Cross to A&E Television Networks; and reality series Off the Hook, which was purchased and developed as a series by the Comcast Corp.-owned Versus.
"We received a record number of submissions this year, proving that the independent television movement continues to expand," said NYTVF founder Terence Gray in a statement."The quality and imagination of the pilots as a whole improves every year, and we expect tremendous things from the artists being showcased at the 2007 NYTVF."
In addition to the Independent Pilot Competition, the 2007 NYTVF will continue on its traditions of offering star-studded red-carpet premieres of new network shows as part of its "Premiere Week" screening series, and present a number of panel discussions covering issues impacting the TV industry.
All-access passes and industry packages to the event currently are on sale at www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com
