Pitching in the Big Leagues for The New York Television Festival’s Pitch Contest Written by Elias Stimac

I have been pitching all day!

Sorry to mislead you sports fans -- I haven’t been playing baseball. When I say pitch I mean sell an idea. My idea for a TV show is being pitched online as part of the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) Pitch Contest. It gives television fans the opportunity to submit a video pitch describing an original TV show for a chance to win $8,000 to finance their production.

NYTVF chosen fifty semifinalists out of all the video submissions they received, then put them in groups of ten and pitted them against one another for the week of August 21- 25. Fans of the show could watch the pitches and vote for them on MSN Video.

As of this writing, the semifinalists have not yet been determined. My pitch is called “My Guardian Angelo,” about a data entry clerk who unwillingly gets a mobster as a bodyguard. It’s like “The Sopranos” mixed with “The Office.” My entry has bounced back and forth from first to fifth place all day, so I am hoping the votes keep coming in. You can see my promo piece at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXSbMPph0mg.

Some of my competitors have intriguing ideas as well. Here are a few other sample pitches:

"Don't Tell My Wife I'm a Cult Leader" is a sitcom loosely based on one man’s real life story. Every week will chronicle the wacky adventures, poignant life lessons, and philosophical insights that come along with living a double life as a family man and a struggling cult leader. You can learn more about the show at www.myspace.com/toddandrew.

“My Big Fat Gay Uncles” or “Say Uncles!” – A show about a young, orphaned, born-again, redneck, high school wrestler from the Midwest who forcibly has to go live with his rowdy gay uncle Robert in New York City. Robert is an ex-Broadway producer wreaking havoc around town along his even rowdier husband Frank, gossip columnist extraordinaire. It’s “The Dukes of Hazzard” meets “Absolutely Fabulous!” Check out http://www.myspace.com/mybigfatgayuncles.

“Assisted Living” -- Joe Moran and Marissa Goldberg’s show is a cross between “The Golden Girls” and “Desperate Housewives” and the action all takes place in an assisted living community. It follows the lives of five tenants, all of whom have their own quirks and compulsions. The show is the perfect way to revive the careers of old-time actors and is sure to be a great way to bond with grandma and grandpa! Visit www.joemoran.info for details.

“Meat” – These determined women have a goal -- to be the first all-female sketch group on US television. Check them out at www.funnymeat.com.

If you are thinking about entering your own pitch for a TV show in the 2007 competition, here’s what you can look forward to next year. The top two vote-getters each day are named finalists and will be invited to pitch their idea at a live Final Pitch event at the IFC Center in New York during the 2006 New York Television Festival. At this event, the Pitch Contest finalists will pitch the ideas live to a panel of development executives, and one lucky winner will receive the grand prize of $8,000 from IFC and Rainbow Media.

The New York Television Festival is being held September 12-17 in New York, with programs and pilots being screened all week. The event was founded in 2005 as the industry’s first recognized platform for independent television. According to spokesperson Eben Russell, “The festival is held annually in the fall in New York City, the birthplace of modern television, the Festival unites artists, executives, industry figures, and fans together in one forum to celebrate the medium and to help shape its future. Along with the Independent Pilot Competition, the Festival features panel discussions, premiere screenings, and other special events designed to honor television as an institution and as an art form.”

Three pilots have been purchased since premiering at the NYTVF 2005 Independent Pilot Competition, including “Criss-Cross” by the A&E Network, “Off the Hook” by OLN, and “The Back Brace” by Premium Films.

Russell relates that the Big Apple is the ideal location for the festival. “ New York City provides the perfect home for the NYTVF, because, ever since the Golden Age of Television in the ’50s, New York has been the proving ground for innovation in the industry. The NYTVF strives to continue this rich legacy of innovation by establishing a platform for showcasing the best independent pilots being produced. Through its Independent Pilot Competition, the Festival has created a new and unique pipeline of program development.” You can find out more details at the official New York Television Festival website, www.nytvf.com.