Fifth Annual New York Television Festival Announces Awards

'Johnny B. Homeless' Wins NYTVF People's Choice Award; Creator of 'Liberal
Arts' Adam Morgan Receives a $25,000 Deal for Winning the FOX-PGP-NYTVF Comedy
Script Contest; Jeremy Redleaf of 'Odd Jobs' Receives Fox TV Studios 'FtvS 15
Gigs of Fame' Award and Development Deal

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The fifth annual New York Television
Festival (NYTVF) announced Festival honors tonight at the NYTVF Awards
Ceremony, presented by Zune. The ceremony held at New World Stages in Midtown
Manhattan featured the winners of the Festival's Independent Pilot
Competition. Representatives from Festival partners also announced the
winners of the second annual NYTVF People's Choice Award, the second
FOX-PGP-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest and Fox TV Studios presented the "FtvS 15
Gigs of Fame" award.

Following the announcement of winners, NYTVF announced the launch of "Act I:
The ION Television Movie Contest," offering drama screenwriters the chance to
win a $40,000 development deal with the network. This unique contest offers
screenwriters a chance to have their original drama script developed into a
new TV movie to air on ION. The 2009 NYTVF launched on September 21st and ran
through September 26th. All pilots will be available soon on MSN Video, Xbox
Marketplace, and Zune Marketplace for free viewing. Check www.nytvf.com for
details.

"Congratulations to all of the talented artists whose work was showcased at
the fifth annual New York Television Festival," said NYTVF founder Terence
Gray. "With the generous support of our partners, sponsors, attendees and
Mayor Bloomberg, who issued a proclamation declaring September 21-26 as the
official 'New York Television Festival Week' in NYC, we are continuing to
build an influential industry event poised to help launch a number of
promising careers in television."

"We are excited to partner with NYTVF on this original film competition," said
Leslie Chesloff, EVP, Programming, ION Media Networks. "ION Television is
dedicated to building its original programming slate, and we are looking
forward to producing a dozen films over the course of the next year. It's no
secret that there are many talented screenwriters in the creative community
with compelling screenplays who are looking for that 'one big break.' We are
thrilled to give the winner the opportunity to show his or her work to the
American television audience."

As announced at the NYTVF Awards Ceremony, following are the awards and their
winners. All winners receive a free Microsoft Zune in addition to other
stated prizes.

NYTVF Special Competition Winners
Voted by popular choice at Festival screenings to honor the audience's
favorite submission in the Independent Pilot Competition, the 2009 NYTVF
People's Choice Award for Best Pilot was presented to Al Thompson for "Johnny
B. Homeless." The web comedy series featuring Saturday Night Live's Kenan
Thompson, follows a professional couch surfer. Though not literally homeless,
the hero constantly stays away from home to give his girlfriend some space and
meets a host of new acquaintances in the process. Creator Al Thompson
received the prized crystal statue awarded to winners at the nationally
televised People's Choice Awards each January.

The comedy pilot "Liberal Arts" was named the winner of the FOX-PGP-NYTVF
Comedy Script Contest. As part of this distinction, Adam Morgan will receive
$25,000 and a development deal with Fox Broadcasting Company. Once in
development, the script has the opportunity to be turned into a pilot
presentation with the support of Procter & Gamble Productions. The script
follows a college freshman's first experiences at a small rustic college.

Jeremy Redleaf, creator of the pilot "Odd Jobs" was named the recipient of the
first annual Fox Television Studios "FtvS 15 Gigsof Fame" award in recognition
of his effort to create a rich entertainment experience around his content.
This prize entitles the winner to an opportunity to further develop a project
for 15 Gigs, a division of Fox Television Studios. The pilot follows two
unemployed roommates as they blaze a trail through a world in economic crisis,
trying on new hats (and hamburger costumes) as they learn the rules of
survival.

NYTVF Independent Pilot Competition Winners
The 2009 Independent Pilot Competition featured 37 pilots in a wide variety of
television genres.
This year's "NYTVF Awards" were presented to pilots and pilot-makers in the
following categories:

Best Comedy Pilot: "Blog of a Pool Boy"
Created by: Greg Burke, AJ Morales, and Lou Perez (New York, NY)
A young novelist falls flat on his face after college graduation and is forced
to work for the family pool care business with his eccentric cousin Billy.

Best Drama Pilot: "Dog"
Created by: Barry Gribble (Washington, DC)
Outrageous radio shock-jock Dog Rollins struggles to share the airwaves with
his new female co-host.

Best Nonscripted Pilot: "Monster Brothers"
Created by: Ryan Golembeske and Josh Golembeske (Santa Monica, CA)
Two rowdy country boys pursue their childhood dream of capturing the world's
most famous monsters on camera.

Best Animation Pilot:"God & Co."
Created by: Stephen Levinson and Joel Levinson (Brooklyn, NY)
An animated, irreverent and totally original take on the Bible featuring the
guest voices of today's hottest comics including Jonathan Katz (Comedy
Central's "Dr. Katz").

Best Web Series Pilot: "My Pal Satan"
Created by: Dennis Heaton (Toronto, Ontario)
Donna is a 26-year-old mortal experiencing ups-and-downs while cohabitating
with the Prince of Darkness.

Best Actor: Greg Burkefor "Blog of a Pool Boy" (New York, NY)
A young novelist falls flat on his face after college graduation and is forced
to work for the family pool care business with his eccentric cousin Billy.

Best Actress: Kaily Smith for "MERRIme.com" (Los Angeles, CA)
After a broken engagement and her father's ultimatum to find a job, Merri
realizes that the key to her survival is not a career, but a man.

Best Nonscripted Host or Star: Lea Michelefor "Around the Block" (New York,
NY)
Our host Lea escapes the daily human grind and travels to "other countries and
exotic destinations" without ever hopping on a plane.

Best Writing:Matt Fisher, Alden Ford, and Justin Tylerfor "HomeSchooled" (New
York, NY)
Three highly intelligent but socially inept home-schooled brothers try to make
their way in New York City.

Best Directing: Nick Armstrong for "Team A.P.O.C.A.L.Y.P.S.E." (Los Angeles,
CA)
In a post-apocalyptic future, three strangers are kidnapped by a
cocky-yet-lonely former millionaire and forced on a mission to stop the
extinction of the human race.

Best Theme Song: "My Pal Satan"
Created by: Dennis Heaton (Toronto, Ontario)
Donna is a 26-year-old mortal experiencing ups-and-downs while cohabitating
with the Prince of Darkness.

Outside the Box Award:"Hell Froze Over"
Created by: Misplaced Planet Productions: J Wilder Konschak, Michael Benni
Pierce, Shaun Boyle, and Alli Hartley (Brooklyn, NY)
The Outside the Box Award is given to the most innovative or genre-expanding
pilot in competition. This year's winner "Hell Froze Over" features Jody who
decides to go on a date with every man she's ever turned down in order to
prove a point to her roommate, Brooke. The 2008 Outside the Box Award winner,
"Food Party," aired as a series in 2009 on IFC.

Full descriptions of all pilots are available online at www.nytvf.com.

The NYTVF is supported by sponsors including Procter & Gamble Productions,
People's Choice, MSN, and WME Entertainment. Official Network Sponsors for
the 2009 NYTVF include ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS and ION Television. The NYTVF works
in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of New York City. For tickets or more
information on the NYTVF, please visit www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com.

About "Act I: The ION Television Movie Contest"
The NYTVF contest offers drama screenwriters the chance to win a $40,000
development deal with ION Television. To enter, writers must submit a movie
treatment (5-10 pages) and the first act of their screenplay (20-40 pages).
The deadline for entry is November 30, 2009.

About ION Television
ION Television (www.iontelevision.com) is a general entertainment network
which reaches over 96 million U.S. television households via its nationwide
broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. Launched in
2006, ION Television features popular TV series and movies from the
award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal,
Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros. Parent
company, ION Media Networks, Inc., owns and operates the nation's largest
broadcast television station group. Using its digital multicasting
capability, ION Media Networks has launched the digital TV brands Qubo, a
channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel
dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open
Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research
and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology
using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit
www.ionmedia.com.

About the New York Television Festival
The NYTVF was founded in 2005 as the industry's first recognized independent
television festival, providing a platform to elevate the work of artists
creating for the small screen. Held annually each 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, network premiere screenings, and other
special events designed to honor television as an institution and as an art
form.

SOURCE New York Television Festival

Andrea Sioris, Rubenstein Communications, +1-212-843-9368,
asioris@rubenstein.com