$100,000 for an Xbox Live Pilot

$100,000 for an Xbox Live pilot spells nothing else than the debut of the show. Microsoft has announced an initiative aimed at delivering TV content exclusive to the Xbox Live network. $100,000 is the prize offered by the Redmond Company for the pilot of what has the chance to become an exclusive TV show for Xbox Live. Microsoft together with the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) have announced that they will host the Xbox Live Originals contest.

Microsoft hopes to attract entries from aspiring producers and to build the first original series developed specifically for the Xbox platform. Participants need only to create a pilot between 5 and 15 minutes with an emphasis on comedy.

"Not only can aspiring TV producers from across the globe try their hands at creating new TV shows, but because of Xbox LIVE Marketplace, they can now win a chance to have more than 6 million people worldwide see their work," said Bill Nielsen, senior director of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft. "This is an incredible opportunity for us to participate in the festival, and we are thrilled to be able to bring community-created TV content to the Xbox community for the first time."

Pilots can be submitted from April 16 until June 29, 2007, and the contest is opened to all the 25 markets that support Xbox Live. In July, a selection of finalists filtered from all the submissions will make their way on Xbox Live Marketplace's video-on-demand service. The winner of the $100,000 will be announced by the end of July and will begin work on the additional six-episode show for the six million audience of Xbox Live.

"The New York Television Festival has always strived to give artists opportunities to get their voices heard in the industry, and we think that showcasing their work on the Xbox 360 will give our artists unprecedented exposure," said Terence Gray, founder of NYTVF. "The Xbox LIVE Originals contest acknowledges that new technologies are enabling artists to tell their stories in innovative ways, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, one of the top digital distributors of online entertainment content, is a great place to showcase the talent that takes part in the NYTVF. The NYTVF is proud to join with Xbox 360 on its groundbreaking initiative to create and provide original programming."