Indie TV Pilot Competition & Showcase

• Writing & Storytelling
  

• Directing & Visual Style
  

• Marketability & Industry Potential
  

• Innovation & Risk-Taking

• • Three (3) Official Pilot Selections

  • • Invited to screen at ATX TV Festival, Season 15 (May 28 - 31, 2026 in Austin, TX) as part of official Indie TV Showcase

• •  One (1) Official Winner from Selections: 

  • • Best Indie TV Pilot Award

ATX Television Festival, LLC 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.

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.

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.

These Terms and Conditions (these “Terms”) apply to any individual (hereinafter, “you” or “your”) who wishes to submit an entry to the ATX TV Festival Indie TV Pilot Competition (the “Competition”) at ATX TV Festival, Season 15 (also known as the 2026 ATX TV Festival) (the “Festival”). You understand that these Terms are a legally binding contract that governs your entry and participation in the Competition. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY, AS THEY MAY IMPACT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE BETWEEN US. SPECIFICALLY, PLEASE REFER TO PARAGRAPH 12 BELOW, WHICH REQUIRES THAT CERTAIN DISPUTES BE SETTLED THROUGH MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION WHICH WILL PRECLUDE YOU FROM LEADING OR PARTICIPATING IN A CLASS ACTION.

1. COMPETITION SPONSOR AND WEBSITE: The sponsor of the Competition is ATX Television Festival, LLC, with a registered address of 11912 Cimaizon Drive, Austin, TX 78725 (“Sponsor”). The URL for the Competition website is https://atxfestival.com/indietv (“Website”).

2. COMPETITION TIMING: The entry submission period for eligible entrants to the Competition begins December 11, 2025 at 09:00 a.m. CT and ends February 28, 2026 at 11:59:59 p.m. CT (“Entry Submission Period”). ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2026 AT 11:59:59 p.m. CT. Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Competition. Unless otherwise indicated, all times in these Terms are expressed in Central Time (CT).

• • April 16, 2026: Announcement of pilots chosen for Festival screening.

• • May 28 – 31, 2026: Selected pilots will screen at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, TX.

3. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for consideration: (1) You must fully comply with these Entry Rules & Regulations, including all deadlines, project length, entry material, and other requirements. (2) Non-English language projects must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will not be accepted.

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.

4. HOW TO ENTER/ENTRY FEE: Entry requires payment of a $65 USD submission fee via Film Freeway (https://filmfreeway.com/ATXTVIndiePilot). A successful submission constitutes an “Entry” and must include:

• • Produced pilot video (20–65 minutes) in an accepted format (MP4, MOV, or other formats specified by Sponsor). DCP required for final screening.
• • Logline and synopsis.
• • Crew & cast list, identifying key creative roles (writer, director, producer).

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to establish, modify, or enforce a maximum number of Entries accepted for the Competition and may close submissions at any time, with or without prior notice, regardless of the published Entry Submission Period. Once the submission cap is reached, Sponsor may refuse or reject additional Entries for any reason.

5. 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.

6. 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 indietv@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 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 Notification, Verification, and Documentation: Sponsor will notify those selected no later than April 16, 2026 using the contact information included as part of the potential Winner’s Entry. Potential Winners must continue to comply with all provisions of these Terms, and award of a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. Sponsor reserves the right to ask each Potential Finalist to present proof of eligibility and satisfy other conditions provided in these Terms to be declared a Finalist and to be awarded a prize. Potential Finalists must execute and deliver to Sponsor requested documents via e-mail within five (5) calendar days following an attempted notification. Such documents may include: (i) affidavits confirming eligibility and compliance with these Terms, (ii) liability releases, (iii) publicity releases (where permitted), (iv) license in which the Entrant warrants that the Entrant is the owner of the Entry (and all the intellectual property rights therein), and (v) such other documents and personal information as may be reasonably requested by Sponsor. Failure to execute and deliver any required documents to Sponsor by the specified deadline may result in disqualification from the Competition, forfeit of the prize, and selection of an alternate potential winner. Sponsor is not responsible for suspended or discontinued Internet or wireless phone service that may result in a potential Winner or alternate not receiving a notification. A Potential Winner’s non-receipt of a message from Sponsor for any reason shall not impose any liability on Sponsor.

7. OFFICIAL SELECTION AND 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.

8. NAME AND LIKENESS RIGHTS: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Competition constitutes each Entrant’s consent to Sponsor’s and its designees’ use of such Entrant’s names, likenesses, photographs, and/or information about the Entry that was submitted by Entrant for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

9. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES: By submitting an Entry, each Entrant represents, warrants, and covenants as follows:

• • Entrant is the exclusive owner and sole author of the Entry and all components thereof are Entrant’s original creative work (and/or the Entrant has obtained prior written authorization to act on behalf of any co-creators) and the Entrant’s submission thereof does not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property rights or other rights of any person or entity.

• • Acceptance of the Terms and participation in the Competition, including submission of the Entry, will not conflict with or violate any term or condition of any other agreement to which Entrant is a party, including but not limited to any union or guild regulation.

• • The Entry is not based on any pre-existing intellectual property and is not substantially similar to a pitch Entrant has previously presented to a network or other industry professional.

• • There are no threatened, pending, or current claims, actions, or lawsuits in connection with the Entry, and Entrant agrees to notify Sponsor immediately upon Entrant’s notification of any such claims, actions, or lawsuits.
  

• • Entrant is submitting the Entry voluntarily on a non-confidential basis.

• • Publication or other use by Sponsor of the Entry via various media including web posting will not infringe on the rights of any third party.

• • Entrant shall comply with any and all 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).

International Entrants: Entrant represents and warrants that submission and use of the Entry in the U.S. and worldwide does not violate any applicable local laws, and all necessary consents, licenses, and permissions have been obtained for global exhibition.

10. USE OF DATA: Sponsor will collect and use entrants’ personal information in accordance with the terms set forth in the ATX TV Privacy Policy. By participating in the Competition, each entrant agrees to Sponsor’s collection and use of their personal information as set forth in the ATX TV Privacy Policy and acknowledges that they have read and accepted the ATX TV Privacy Policy.

International Entrants: By submitting an Entry, you consent to the transfer of your personal data to the United States for purposes of judging, promotion, and archival storage, and represent that such transfer and use complies with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, or any other local privacy laws. Entrants may request deletion of their personal data pursuant to applicable law (please email tv@atxfestival.com for this purpose).

11. CHOICE OF LAW; DISPUTE RESOLUTION: These Terms shall be deemed to have been entered into and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas as applied to contracts made and to be performed entirely within Texas, without giving effect to the state’s conflicts of law statute.

Any controversy, dispute or claim arising out of or related to these Terms, the Competition or your participation therein shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration as described in this section. This agreement to arbitrate is intended to be interpreted broadly. It includes, but is not limited to, all claims and disputes relating to the Competition.

YOU AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU AND SPONSOR ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. YOU AND SPONSOR AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. ANY ARBITRATION WILL TAKE PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS; CLASS ARBITRATIONS AND CLASS ACTIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED.

The arbitration will be conducted by JAMS in accordance with its then-current Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures (“JAMS Rules”) and will be held in Austin, Texas. The arbitration will be conducted by one neutral arbitrator chosen by the parties. If the parties cannot agree upon an arbitrator, they shall submit to the procedure used by JAMS to choose an arbitrator. The current rules may be found on the Internet at: http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/.

This arbitration agreement is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce, and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§1–16. The arbitrator shall apply Texas law, consistent with the FAA and applicable statutes of limitations, and shall honor claims of privilege recognized at law. Notwithstanding anything herein or in the JAMS Rules to the contrary, the arbitrator shall not have the power to award punitive damages against you or Sponsor. The arbitrator’s ruling is binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

International Entrants: By entering the Competition, you agree that U.S. law and arbitration rules apply to the fullest extent permissible by your local law, and that the arbitration award is enforceable in your jurisdiction to the extent enforceable under applicable international treaties or law.

Notwithstanding anything herein, if this agreement to arbitrate is held unenforceable by a court, disputes shall be exclusively brought in the state or federal courts located in Travis County, Texas. Each party to any arbitration shall bear its own costs, including attorney’s fees. Failure to appear at any arbitration hearing entitles the arbitrator to proceed ex parte.

12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Each Entrant retains ownership of such Entrant’s Entry. Sponsor claims no ownership rights in any Entry other than the non-exclusive licenses and permissions necessary to evaluate and judge the Entries for participation in the Competition as set forth in these Terms. By accepting Entries, Sponsor in no way grants Entrants any additional rights therein or otherwise expands the scope of rights under applicable copyright laws. Entrants are solely responsible for protecting their rights in their Entries, including without limitation, for filing or registering any components of the Entry with the Writers Guild of America and/or the United States Copyright Office.

Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor and/or any participating independent judges may independently access or develop creative concepts and/or works which resemble the Entry or incorporate similar concepts, themes, formats, plot lines and characters to those in the Entry and that Entrant is not entitled to any compensation and has no rights of any kind in connection therewith. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) Sponsor and Competition Entities may have access to and/or may create literary, film, tape and/or other materials, ideas and concepts which may be similar or identical to Entrant’s Entry, ideas, and/or concepts;
(b) Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation or other consideration because of the use by Sponsor, Competition Entities or any other Competition participant of such similar or identical material, ideas and/or concepts; and
(c) Sponsor’s, Competition Entities’ or other participant’s use of material containing elements similar to or identical with those contained in Entrant’s Entry shall not obligate Sponsor to negotiate with nor entitle Entrant to any compensation or other claim.

International Entrants: This paragraph applies worldwide, and Entrant warrants that no foreign intellectual property rights or laws are infringed by submission or use of the Entry as contemplated herein.

13. 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.
  

14. 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.

15. RELEASE; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY; AND INDEMNIFICATION: By participating in the Competition and submitting an Entry, each Entrant (a) agrees to be bound by these Terms and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Competition; (b) waives any and all claims against Sponsor, and all other Competition Entities for any injury, damage or loss that may occur, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from: (i) participation in the Competition; (ii) printing errors or any errors made in the advertisement of the Competition; (iii) lost, late, illegible, incomplete, misdirected, damaged, destroyed or mutilated Entries or for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, delays in operations or transmissions, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials or failures in transmission of Entries; (iv) errors in the administration of the Competition or the processing of Entries; or (v) any electronic traffic congestion, or any lost, interrupted, or unavailable connections with server, network, Internet service provider, or telephone; (c) indemnifies and holds harmless the Sponsor and Sponsor’s directors, officers, employees, contractors, representatives, agents, partners, insurers, licensors, licensees, successors and assigns (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from any and all claims, damages, suits, actions, expenses, costs (including legal fees and court and administrative costs) and liabilities (including settlements) of any kind whatsoever, brought or asserted by any third party against Sponsor or the Indemnified Parties due to or arising out of Entrant’s Entry, or Entrant’s conduct in creating an Entry or otherwise in connection with this Competition, including but not limited to: claims for trademark infringement; copyright infringement; violation of an individual’s right of publicity or right of privacy; or defamation, threatened or actual injury, loss, or damage to any person, including death and disability; and damage to or loss of property, arising out of such Entrant’s participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. Entrants further agree that in any cause of action, Sponsor or the Indemnified Parties aggregate liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Competition, and in no event shall the Indemnified Parties be liable for attorneys’ fees. Entrants waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any provision of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Revision Date: December 10, 2025