Full Terms are available at: atxfestival.com/indietv
SELECT TERMS:
ATX Television Festival, LLC (the “Sponsor”) supports emerging and established TV creatives with a mission to discover and curate the best of television through panels, premieres, exhibitions, and events.
Selections will screen at ATX TV Festival Season 15 in Austin, Texas between May 28-31, 2026 (the "Festival").
Organizers reserve the right change, cancel or re-schedule the dates, venue, awards & categories without consent or information to contestants.
Organizers have no obligation to disclose any of the following: identity of screeners/judges; notes, feedback or information related to submitted pilot, or details regarding the submission review or selection process.
Indie TV Pilot Competition is the Festival’s section for long and short form independent episodic work of both narrative (scripted) and documentary (unscripted) genres.
The Competition is open to all individuals or production teams aged 18 or older, including international entrants, subject to all applicable local laws.
Entrants are responsible for ensuring that submission and exhibition of their Entry complies with all laws, regulations, and restrictions in their jurisdiction, including but not limited to copyright, export/import, and content laws.
Persons in the following categories are not eligible: employees of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, service providers connected to the Competition, and immediate family or household members of such employees and service providers.
General requirements:
Pilots must be fully produced (shot and edited).
Pilots must have been completed between January 1, 2023 and the time of submission.
Entrants may submit as many pilots as desired. (Note: Each pilot submission requires a separate Entry.)
Pilots may have been independently released or screened, but worldwide distribution rights must be available.
Entrants must own or control all rights to the pilot, including music, stock footage, or external content, and have obtained necessary licenses for festival exhibition.
The Competition is subject to all applicable laws worldwide. Void where prohibited. Sponsor’s decisions are final.
Eligibility Note: If at any point following its initial consideration, the Festival determines that a submission no longer meets all the eligibility criteria described above, such submission will be deemed ineligible.
Eligible Projects include (additional eligibility requirements below):
Independently created projects are episodic series created for potential broadcast television and/or streaming, and web series.
Independently created submitted pilots must show the potential for serial growth; standalone short films will not be considered.
Each project must be individually submitted and accompanied by its own completed online entry form; please do not send links to multiple project entries in your online entry form, as any or all of them may be disqualified.
GUIDELINES FOR ENTRIES
Entries must be original content; entrants must own or control all rights.
Entries must not infringe on intellectual property rights.
Entries and live presentations must not disparage Sponsor.Entrants grant Sponsor the right to use submission materials for evaluation, promotion, or archival purposes.
Entrants must ensure that all submitted
Entries are either presented in English or include complete and accurate English-language subtitles for any non-English dialogue or text.
International Entrants: Entrants residing outside the United States represent and warrant that their submission may be lawfully submitted, judged, and screened in the United States and worldwide, and that they have obtained all necessary consents, licenses, or permissions for exhibition of the Entry.
INVITED and SELECTED PILOTS
Festival programmers select and invite all pilots to be presented at ATX TV Festival Season 15, (see eligibility requirements above).
Invited creators will be notified by email or phone via the information provided on the submitted entry form. Make sure to update the Festival with new contact information or any other festival invitations prior to festival dates at tv@atxfestival.com. If your project is invited, your selection status will be confirmed with you and locked. Should your eligibility change from submitted materials, the Festival reserves the right to rescind the invitation.
IF YOUR PROJECT IS SELECTED
You must fulfill the following requirements by the date(s) designated by the Festival: (1) You must execute a release agreement wherein you (i) accept responsibility for obtaining any and all clearances necessary to exhibit and promote your project and any promotional materials provided by you in connection with ATX Television Festival Season 15; (ii) warrant that you have the rights necessary for ATX TV Festival to exhibit and promote your project and use any promotional materials provided by you in connection with the Festival; and (iii) indemnify and hold harmless the Festival, its affiliates, and subsidiaries and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of exhibition and promotion of your project in connection with the Festival.
You must provide a properly completed and signed official ATX Television Festival “Festival Information Form” including all press and publication assets as specified in the “Materials Checklist” (the “Festival Information Form” and “Materials Checklist” will be provided by the Festival). You must provide a downloadable link of the final, completed project for Festival archives and internal purposes.
Judging Criteria: Screeners and Jurors will evaluate based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
● Writing & Storytelling (originality of concept, story structure & pacing, character development)
● Directing & Visual Style (visual storytelling, camera use, framing, visual motifs)
● Marketability & Industry Potential (distribution potential, series longevity)
● Innovation & Risk-Taking (unique creator voice or perspective)
Selection + Award:A minimum of three (3) Entries selected by the Screeners and/or Jurors will be invited to screen at the ATX TV Festival, Season 15, in Austin, Texas.
From these, one (1) winner will be selected by the final panel of Jurors and announced as "Best Indie TV Pilot."
No other prizes are offered.
Prizes are non-transferable; Sponsor is not responsible for travel, taxes, duties, or other associated costs, including any fees incurred by international entrants.
DISQUALIFICATION
Any Entrant may be disqualified from the Competition if Sponsor in its sole discretion determines that Entrant has done any of the following:
● failed to satisfy the requirements for eligibility;● provided Sponsor with untruthful, inaccurate, or misleading information;● used robotic, macro, automatic, programmed or like methods to enter the Competition;● violated any provision of these Terms or any other rules, policies and procedures of Sponsor, including, without limitation, the ATX TV Policies (including, without limitation, the ATX TV Code of Conduct set forth therein);● abused, tampered, or interfered in any manner with the Competition or the Website;● acted in an unreasonable, non-sportsmanlike way;● acted in any manner to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass Sponsor or any other person;● given or agreed to give anything of value to any person associated in any manner with Sponsor or its agents to advance in the Competition or win any prize; or● accepted or agreed to accept anything of value from any person to promote any product, service, or venture during the course of the Competition.
RIGHT TO CANCEL OR MODIFY
Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify these Terms or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Competition for any reason or for no reason in its sole discretion. Possible reasons include, but are not limited to: ineligibility of Entrants, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Competition. If Sponsor decides to reconvene the Competition after a suspension, the determination of Winner(s) will be made from among all eligible, valid, non-suspect Entrants, in the sole discretion of Sponsor. In the event that any legal or regulatory authority challenges the Competition, Sponsor reserves the right to discontinue or modify the Competition, or to disqualify Entrants residing in the affected geographic areas, and in such event, Sponsor shall have no liability to any Entrants who are disqualified due to such an action.
