Indie TV Pilot Competition & Showcase

• • Regular Submission Fee: $65 per pilot/submission.

• • Late Submission Fee: $85 per pilot/submission.

• • Open to creators 18+ worldwide.

• • Pilot submission must be fully produced, and between 20 – 65 min.

• • Creator(s) must retain worldwide distribution rights, as well as festival rights for exhibition.

• • Multiple submissions allowed. Each pilot must be submitted separately.

• • To inquire about submission fee waivers, please reach out to indietv@atxfestival.com.

• • Writing & Storytelling
  

• • Directing & Visual Style
  

• • Marketability & Industry Potential
  

• • Innovation & Risk-Taking

• • Minimum two (2) Official Selections – Two (2) or more selected pilots will be Invited to screen at ATX TV Festival, Season 16 (June 3 - 6, 2027 in Austin, TX) as part of the official festival line-up.
  
• •  Up to two (2) Winners may be selected across Scripted and Unscripted categories:

  • • Best Indie TV Pilot – Scripted

  • • Best Indie TV Pilot – Unscripted

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 16 in Austin, Texas between June 3 - 6, 2027.

The Indie TV Pilot Competition is the Festival’s section for independent episodic work of both narrative/scripted and documentary/unscripted genres. In-competition Entries must be pilot episodes between 20 and 65 minutes in length.

Eligible Projects include:

• • 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.

For purposes of these Terms, an “Entry” means a submitted pilot episode that satisfies the eligibility and submission requirements below. 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 16 (also known as the 2027 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 SECTION 11 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 (the “Website”).

2. COMPETITION TIMING: The Entry Submission Period for eligible entrants begins October 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CT and ends February 12, 2027 at 11:59:59 p.m. CT. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 12, 2027 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”).

Key dates:

• • October 5, 2026: Entry Submission Period opens at 9:00 a.m. CT.

• • December 18, 2026: Regular Entry deadline.

• • February 12, 2027: Final Entry deadline at 11:59:59 p.m. CT.

• • April 20, 2027: Announcement of pilots chosen for Festival screening.

• • June 3 - 6, 2027: Selected pilots screen at ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas.

3. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for consideration, you must fully comply with these Terms, including all deadlines, project length, entry materials, and other requirements.

The Competition is open to all individuals or production teams aged 18 or older, including international entrants, subject to all applicable local 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:

• • Entries must be pilot episodes between 20 and 65 minutes in length.

• • Pilots may be works in progress at the time of submission, but the submitted version will be considered the final submitted version for purposes of the Competition, and no material creative changes may be made after submission.

• • Pilots must have been completed between January 1, 2024 and the time of submission.

• • Entrants may submit as many pilots as desired. Each pilot submission requires a separate Entry.

• • Pilots may have been independently released or screened, including on platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo or at other festivals, provided that worldwide distribution rights remain available.

• • For purposes of defining an independent pilot, worldwide distribution rights must be available.

• • Separately, creator(s) must own or have negotiated all rights necessary for the Entry’s exhibition at the Festival, including applicable Festival exhibition rights.

• • Entrants must own, control, or have obtained the necessary rights, licenses, permissions, and authorizations for all elements of the Entry, including music, stock footage, external content, and any underlying or pre-existing intellectual property.

• • There is no budget limit for Entries. Entrants may be asked to provide the Entry’s budget as part of the submission process.

Language: Non-English language projects must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will not be accepted.

Independent Status: An Entry may have been publicly released, screened, or otherwise made available prior to submission. Prior release or screening does not, by itself, make an Entry ineligible. For purposes of the Competition’s definition of an independent pilot, worldwide distribution rights must be available.

Applicable Laws: The Competition is subject to all applicable laws worldwide. Void where prohibited. Sponsor’s decisions are final.

If at any point following its initial consideration, the Festival determines that a submission no longer meets all 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 FilmFreeway if submitted between October 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CT and December 18, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT, and an $85 USD submission fee via FilmFreeway if submitted between December 19, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. CT and February 12, 2027 at 11:59:59 p.m. CT. 

A successful submission constitutes an “Entry” and must include:

• • Pilot video, between 20 and 65 minutes, in an accepted format specified by Sponsor.
• • Logline and synopsis.
• • Crew and cast list, identifying key creative roles including writer, director, and producer.

A DCP will be required for final Festival screening.

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.

Submission Fee Waivers: Entrants may apply for a 50% or 100% reduction in submission fees through the application linked on the Website.

5. GUIDELINES FOR ENTRIES:

Originality and Intellectual Property: Entries may be based on pre-existing intellectual property, provided that Entrant(s) own, control, or have obtained all necessary rights and permissions to create the series and submit and exhibit the Entry at the Festival.

Entries must not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights of any third party.

Entries may have previously been pitched or presented to a network, studio, producer, industry professional, or other party. A prior pitch or presentation does not, by itself, make an Entry ineligible.

Sponsor Conduct: Entries and live presentations must not disparage Sponsor. Entrants grant Sponsor the rights described in Section 12 to use submission materials for evaluation, judging, promotion, and archival or internal purposes.

Language: 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.

ATX TV Policies and Code of Conduct: Entrants must comply with the ATX TV Policies and Code of Conduct, available at: https://atxfestival.com/policies

AI Use: Entrants must disclose any use of generative artificial intelligence (“generative AI”) in connection with the creation or production of the Entry.

Generative AI may not be used to generate or materially alter the Entry’s underlying creative work, including writing, dialogue, characters, story, narrative structure, performances, images, animation, music, or other substantive creative elements.

Certain non-creative or technical uses of generative AI may be permitted if disclosed for non-creative or technical functions, such as transcription, translation, captioning, formatting, technical quality control, or other production-administration purposes, provided those uses are disclosed in the submission form.

Entrants are responsible for ensuring that any AI-assisted material does not infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any third-party rights and that they have all necessary rights, licenses, permissions, and authorizations to submit and exhibit the Entry.

Failure to disclose required AI use, or prohibited AI use, may result in disqualification.

Sponsor may request additional information regarding disclosed AI use, including information regarding the nature and purpose of the AI use and the materials or elements affected.

6. SELECTED PILOTS: Pilot episodes selected by the Festival’s programmers will be invited to screen at ATX TV Festival Season 16. Invited creators will be notified by email or phone using the information provided on the submitted Entry form. Entrants should update the Festival with new contact information or any other relevant Festival information prior to the Festival dates by contacting tv@atxfestival.com.

If a project is selected, its selection status will be confirmed with the Entrant. Should eligibility change from the submitted materials, the Festival reserves the right to rescind the invitation.

Selected Entry Requirements: If your project is selected, you must fulfill the following requirements by the date(s) designated by the Festival:

• 1. Execute a release agreement accepting responsibility for obtaining all clearances necessary to exhibit and promote the project and promotional materials provided in connection with the Festival; warranting that you have the rights necessary for ATX TV Festival to exhibit and promote the project and use those promotional materials; and indemnifying and holding harmless the Festival, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against claims arising out of exhibition and promotion of the project in connection with the Festival.
• 2. Provide a properly completed and signed official ATX Television Festival Festival Information Form, including all press and publication assets specified in the Materials Checklist. The Festival Information Form and Materials Checklist will be provided by the Festival.
• 3. Provide a downloadable link of the final submitted project for Festival archives and internal purposes.

Submitted Version: The Entry submitted to the Competition is the version considered for judging and selection.

Except as necessary to satisfy the expressly stated DCP delivery requirement, Entrants may not make material creative changes or provide a replacement version after submission.

ATX will not require captions or subtitles except that non-English Entries must include English subtitles as stated above.

Judging Criteria: Screeners and Jurors will evaluate Entries based on the following criteria:

Writing & Storytelling

• • Originality of concept
• • Story structure and 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 and Verification: Sponsor will notify selected Entrants no later than April 19, 2027 using the contact information included with the Entry.

Selected Entrants must continue to comply with all provisions of these Terms.

Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of eligibility and other reasonably necessary documentation. Such documents may include affidavits confirming eligibility and compliance, liability or publicity releases where permitted, documentation confirming ownership or rights, and other reasonably necessary documents.

Failure to provide required documentation by the specified deadline may result in disqualification.

Sponsor is not responsible for suspended or discontinued Internet or wireless phone service that may result in an Entrant not receiving notification.

7. OFFICIAL SELECTION AND AWARD: A minimum of two (2) Entries selected by the Screeners and/or Jurors will be invited to screen at the ATX TV Festival, Season 16 in Austin, Texas. Following the Festival screenings, a final panel of Jurors may select up to one (1) winner in each category:

• • Best Indie TV Pilot – Scripted

• • Best Indie TV Pilot – Unscripted

Winners will receive official recognition from the Festival jury and digital laurels for promotional use. There is no cash prize or other prize associated with the designation. 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 name, likeness, photographs, and/or information about the Entry 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 owns, controls, or has obtained all rights, licenses, permissions, and authorizations necessary to submit, exhibit, promote, and otherwise use the Entry as contemplated by these Terms.

• • Where an Entry has multiple creators, producers, rightsholders, or other parties with rights in the Entry, the person submitting the Entry represents that they have authority to submit the Entry on behalf of the applicable co-creators and rightsholders.

• • Entrant’s submission does not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity, or other rights of any person or entity.

• • Acceptance of these 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 may be based on pre-existing intellectual property and may have previously been pitched, presented, released, screened, or otherwise made available, provided that Entrant satisfies all applicable rights and eligibility requirements in these Terms.

• • There are no threatened, pending, or current claims, actions, or lawsuits in connection with the Entry, and Entrant agrees to notify Sponsor promptly upon learning 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 and related materials as permitted under these Terms, including web posting or promotional use, will not infringe the rights of any third party.

• • Entrant shall comply with any and all other rules, policies, and procedures of Sponsor, including the ATX TV Policies and Code of Conduct.

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

10. USE OF DATA: Sponsor will collect and use entrants’ personal information in accordance with the ATX TV Privacy Policy. By participating in the Competition, each Entrant agrees to Sponsor’s collection and use of 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 other applicable privacy laws. Entrants may request deletion of their personal data pursuant to applicable law by emailing tv@atxfestival.com.

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 and 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 applicable arbitration 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.

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 applicable 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 granted under these Terms and any additional release agreement required for a selected Entry.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license, for the duration reasonably necessary to administer the Competition and Festival, to reproduce, display, perform, transmit, excerpt, and otherwise use the Entry and materials submitted with it solely as reasonably necessary to: 

• • evaluate and judge the Entry;

• • communicate about the Competition;

• • promote the Entry’s selection or participation in the Festival;

• • promote the Festival and Competition; and

• • maintain Festival archives and internal records.

Sponsor will not acquire ownership of the Entry through this license.

Similarity and Independent Creation: 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 compensation or other rights solely because of such similarity.

Sponsor and Competition Entities may have access to and/or may create literary, film, tape, or other materials, ideas, and concepts which may be similar or identical to Entrant’s Entry, ideas, and/or concepts.

Entrant will not be entitled to compensation or other consideration because of the use by Sponsor, Competition Entities, or other Competition participants of similar or identical material, ideas, and/or concepts.

Sponsor’s, Competition Entities’ or other participants’ use of material containing elements similar to or identical with those contained in Entrant’s Entry shall not obligate Sponsor to negotiate with or provide compensation to Entrant or create any claim solely because of such similarity.

International Intellectual Property: This Section 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 the ATX TV Policies and Code of Conduct.
• • Abused, tampered with, or interfered in any manner with the Competition or the Website.
• • Acted in an unreasonable or 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 award.
• • 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 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 errors made in the advertisement of the Competition; (iii) lost, late, illegible, incomplete, misdirected, damaged, destroyed, or mutilated Entries; (iv) 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; (v) errors in the administration of the Competition or processing of Entries; or (vi) electronic traffic congestion, or any lost, interrupted, or unavailable connections with server, network, Internet service provider, or telephone; (c) indemnifies and holds harmless 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, Entrant’s conduct in creating an Entry, or otherwise in connection with this Competition, including claims for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, violation of an individual’s right of publicity or right of privacy, defamation, threatened or actual injury, loss, or damage to any person, including death and disability, and damage to or loss of property; (d) agrees 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 damages whatsoever, including punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. 

Sponsor’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Revision Date: October 1, 2026