Starz Teams with NYTVF for 'Rising Talent Award'

The NYTVF (www.nytvf.com) today announced a new partnership with Starz that will identify an outstanding producer or production team selected from the Official Artists participating in the 2015 New York Television Festival for the inaugural "Starz Rising Talent Award." Narrative projects are eligible for consideration and must be named Official Selections in the NYTVF's annual Independent Pilot Competition, which is accepting entries through June 29. The winning producer(s) will be awarded a cash prize as well as the opportunity to meet with Starz development and programming executives. The partnership marks the first time that a premium cable network has offered a guaranteed opportunity to an NYTVF artist.

"Starz is behind some of the best shows on TV right now and we are honored and thrilled to partner with them to bring this fantastic opportunity to the NYTVF community," said NYTVF Founder Terence Gray. "In a year where we've seen a number of notable announcements for previous NYTVF projects, including the two-season pick-up at HBO for 2013 Best Comedy "Animals", a Jimmy Fallon-produced NBC pilot for 2013 Official Selection "Sharing", the development of 2012 Best Comedy "Shrink" at Pivot, and our first project under the NYTVF Productions banner ("The Jamz" produced in partnership with indie distributor, The Orchard), to develop an official relationship with a premium cable network like Starz presents a viable opportunity for producers looking to further their projects in the television and digital space."

Starz Rising Talent Award: Creative Guidelines

Starz is partnering with the NYTVF to identify outstanding narrative storytellers and is interested in producers with comedy or drama projects across the creative spectrum.

To submit to the NYTVF's Independent Pilot Competition, producers must submit a television or digital pilot, between four (4) and sixty (60) minutes in length by June 29, 2015. Additional submission details, deadlines, and submission forms are available at http://www.nytvf.com/2015_ipc.html.

The Starz Rising Talent Award joins previously-announced opportunities from Comedy Central, truTV, Red ARROW Entertainment, and HISTORY on NYTVF's slate of 2015 development partners, with more to be announced in the weeks to come. Information for these and all NYTVF submission opportunities can be found athttp://www.nytvf.com/submit.html. Producers selected as finalists in any NYTVF initiative throughout the year will be invited to participate in the 2015 Festival as Official Artists.

About Starz

Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ(r) and ENCORE(r) pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of March 31, 2015, Starz and ENCORE serve a combined 57.5 million subscribers, including 23.7 million at STARZ, and 33.8 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ(r) and ENCORE(r), along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX(r), air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through Starz PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.

About the NYTVF

Established in 2005, the NYTVF constructs new and innovative paths of development and talent identification, while simultaneously complementing the traditional television development model. By partnering directly with networks, studios, production companies, digital platforms, and brands, the NYTVF provides its Industry Partners with a streamlined development model, leveraging its vast creative community of over 15,000 independent producers and production companies, to create content with specific partners in mind. During the annual New York Television Festival - held each fall in New York City - the NYTVF brings together its top artists and industry decision-makers for a series of events designed to foster networking, collaboration and education. The Festival also marks the culmination of the organization's yearly development efforts and features screenings of top independent content, educational panels, fan events, red carpet premieres, and more. For more information on the NYTVF and the annual Festival, visitwww.nytvf.com, and to learn about opportunities to submit for its year-round development initiatives, visithttp://www.nytvf.com/submit.html.

To post a comment, you must register and login.