November 1, 2005 - On October 3, executives from New York City’s television networks, local talent, city officials and festival organizers gathered at Gracie Mansion to celebrate the close of the first New York Television Festival (NYTVF). During its inaugural run, the festival provided a platform for the industry to showcase their work for possible distribution. At the Gracie Mansion breakfast, the festival’s award winners were recognized and New York celebrated its outstanding entertainment production industry, which contributes $5 billion to the City’s economy on an annual basis.

“New York is a proud home to more than 100 television shows which bring our amazing City to audiences around the globe,” Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting said. “Our local film and television production industry employs 100,000 New Yorkers, and now, thanks to the ‘Made in NY’ incentive program, we are increasing our City’s share of this valuable industry.”

“We were thrilled and honored to bring the inaugural New York Television Festival to a close at Gracie Mansion,” Terence Gray, Executive Director of the Festival, said. “The artists, executives and festival guests I spoke to all remarked on how impressed they were with the event … I hope that the partnership between the City and the NYTVF continues to flourish in the future, further cementing New York's storied reputation as the locus for innovation in the industry. Considering the City's many incentives for TV production, I envision this trend continuing for years to come.”

Click here for more information on the festival.