International Academy of Web Television Announces Call for Submissions

Recognizing content creators driving today’s web television industry, the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) announced a call for submissions for the inaugural IAWTV Awards to be presented on Thursday, January 12, 2012, in Las Vegas during 2012 International CES.

Submissions for the first-ever IAWTV Awards begin Tuesday, October 4, 2011 and must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on October 31, 2011. For more information visit http://www.iawtv.org/awards.

For its premier event, the IAWTV Awards consists of 33 categories honoring web series and talent, both in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes. Submissions for the IAWTV Awards are open to qualifying individual producers, production teams and companies, major studios and networks, independent talent, YouTube stars and mainstream talent. A full list of categories for the first IAWTV Awards can be found at http://iawtv.org/awards/categories.

“The original online video industry is booming and the IAWTV is thrilled to produce the first awards for content creators by content creators, honoring the talented community behind the screens,” says Paul Kontonis, Chairman of the Board of Directors for IAWTV, , and Vice President/Group Director of Brand Content at Digitas. “As we open up submissions for our inaugural awards, we welcome entries from content creators who are changing the way we watch and from independent talent to distribution platforms and major studios.”

Qualifications for IAWTV Awards eligibility include:

• Only episodes of a Web series as defined by the IAWTV that were released during the period of January 1, 2010 through October 31, 2011 are permitted to be entered for consideration in the inaugural IAWTV Awards and only so long as at least two (2) or more episodes of the web series were released within the eligibility period.
• The IAWTV defines a Web series as a series of two (2) or more episodes held together by the same title, trade name or mark, or identifying personality common to all the episodes that initially aired and were distributed anywhere in the world via the Internet using website technology (e.g., .com, .net, .biz, etc.). Exclusions from this are works such as previews, trailers, sizzle reels, commercials, any sequences from feature-length films for theatrical distribution or home video release, aired and unaired episodes of established TV series delivered on free network broadcast television, pay television and all forms of cable television, and any unsold traditional TV series pilots.
• Both members and non-members of the IAWTV are welcome to submit their shows for consideration.
• All submissions and entry fees must be received by 11:59pm PST on October 31, 2011. All submissions must be received via the IAWTV’s online entry system at http://submissions.iawtv.org from the owner or authorized representative of the web series.

Active members of the IAWTV will vote on IAWTV Awards. Nominees will be announced in December 2011 following preliminary voting. To become a member visit http://iawtv.org/join-us.