2027 entry guide

The 2027 competition deadline is December 31, 2025.

ENTRY FEES
SINGLE – $445 USD
SERIES – $795 USD
STUDENT – $200 USD

A separate fee is applicable for each category selection. If you are submitting more than one entry, send only one payment for the total amount of all your entry fees. We accept credit card payment using VISA, MasterCard, and AMEX. Credit Card Fees are 3% of total order for VISA and MasterCard. Credit Card Fees are 3.2% of total order for AMEX. Currency must be in USA dollars made payable to INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GROUP, LLC.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GROUP must receive payment information within 7 business days following the completion of your online entry submission in order to process entries, otherwise the entries may be withdrawn from the competition.

PROCESSING FEES
For wire (or bank) transfer payments, all bank charges must be prepaid by you and an additional $150 US dollars will be added to the total amount on your invoice to cover intermediary bank fees. You must include your invoice number on your bank transfer Instruction forms so we can match your payments to your order. You must send the financial contact information for all wire transfers and any purchase order requests or tax information requirements along with your invoice to accounting@newyorkfestivals.com

Your invoice number and our bank transfer information will be available to you just prior to checkout. You will be able to print your invoice for your accounting department so they can execute the transfer. If you have any questions about your invoice forward it to accounting@newyorkfestivals.com.

Do not reply to invoice@newyorkfestivals.com

We do not charge media handling fees, sales tax, or VAT taxes.

LATE ENTRY FEE
Any entry submitted after the official Final Deadline may be subject to a 10% Late Entry Processing Fee.

REFUND POLICY
Refunds of entry fees will only be granted if a written request is made within 14 days of submitting entries and then a $100 fee per entry will be charged to cover additional administrative costs. After 14 days, because entries will have been processed and entered into the system, no refunds will be granted but we will be able to block the entries from the judging schedule.

No refunds will be made once the judging begins.

To be eligible for the 2027 competition, entries must have been produced, released, exhibited, screened, aired, published or streamed from September 1, 2025, until the deadline of December 31, 2026, and were not awarded a trophy in the same category in the 2026 TV & Film Awards.

SINGLE ENTRY
An individual episode or “one-off”
2 File Maximum
1 Episode/piece and one supplemental information file

SERIES ENTRY
A program series or campaign
4 File Maximum
3 Episodes/pieces and one supplemental information file

Select the category that most closely relates to your submission’s type of program, primary purpose, content, or target audience. You may enter the same production or program in multiple categories, including program categories and craft categories. There is an entry fee for each category you enter. Categories have Single entry and Series entry options depending on the number of pieces/episodes you submit.

The categories for Television & Film are divided into fourteen category groups. They are:

NEWS PROGRAM
NEWS REPORT/FEATURE
SPORTS PROGRAM
DOCUMENTARY
ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
ENTERTAINMENT SPECIAL
CRAFT PROGRAM
PROMOTIONS/OPEN & ID
CRAFT PROMOTION/OPEN & ID
STREAMING
STUDENT
FILMS
CORPORATE IMAGE
CRAFT FILMS/PRODUCTIONS

Submissions may be either full episodes or excerpts. All entries may submit a supplemental information file in the form of trailer or title sequence, URL or JPG.

A performer/on-air personality may enter multiple achievements in a performance category if the achievements are for different programs constituting a body of work. Craft category submissions may enter multiple achievements constituting a body of work.

Individual entries are evaluated for their intrinsic merits – without comparing them with others. There is no numerical limit for the number of finalists in any category. The number of entries in a category has no bearing on how each entry is scored by the jury. One, none, or more than one award may be given in any category. Each entry is, in effect, in competition with itself, and is measured by our international award-winning jury of experts using an industry-accepted standard of excellence.

BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR
Will be awarded to the network with the highest scores for entries and largest medal count across all categories whether submitted by the network or the producer.

PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Will be awarded to the production company with the highest scores for entries and largest medal count across all categories.

PROGRAM PROMOTION TEAM OF THE YEAR
Will be awarded to the creative team with the highest scores for entries and largest medal count across all promotion categories and all platforms regardless of who submitted the entry.

The Shortlist will be announced in advance of the gala. The Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Finalist Diploma winners will be announced at the 2027 Storytellers Gala in May. Laurels will be sent to winning contacts three days before the awards ceremony. Student winners will be sent Diplomas. The Specialty Awards and Industry Awards of Broadcaster of the Year, Production Company of the Year, and Program Promotion Team of the Year will be announced at that time. Press releases will be sent to international wire service outlets, to the trades, across our social media platforms. New York Festivals winners may refer in advertising and publicity to the fact that they are a New York Festivals winner.

Free streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet WaterBear Network, has partnered with New York Festivals to create an exclusive award. The WaterBear Award will be awarded to the highest scoring documentary across the Climate Change & Sustainability, Environment & Ecology, and Nature & Wildlife categories. The winner will be announced during the 2027 Storytellers Gala in May.

Formed to promote justice through the arts and public engagement, JusticeAid has partnered with New York Festivals to create an exclusive new award. The JusticeAid Award will be awarded to the highest scoring submission across all Social Justice categories in the NYF TV & Film and Radio competitions. The winner will be announced during the 2027 Storytellers Gala in May.

REQUIRED FIELD

The written background summary is required during the online entry process. There is a maximum of 800 words. Please include the purpose of your entry, the audience for your entry and any other pertinent information about content and context. This is your opportunity to address the grand jury members and explain what is special about your submission. You may submit a case study with a supplementary file for titles, trailer, JPEGs of performers, url, or press.

Innovation entries may add a non-broadcast support video separated with a slate with background material for evaluation by the jury.

Technical Production Team entries may add a non-broadcast support video separated with a slate on the complexity of the production for evaluation by the jury

Use of Technology entries may add a non-broadcast support video separated with a slate on the complexity of the production for evaluation by the jury.

REQUIRED IF NOT IN ENGLISH

Productions not produced in the English language must have either subtitles or overdubbing in English or include a translation in English of the first and last 10 minutes of the entry. That translation must be submitted digitally in the translation box provided in the online entry form. Translations may only be edited after the entry process is complete by contacting NYF Processing.

When submitting your credits, be aware that if your entry is a trophy winner, your Tower trophy will list only the year of the competition, the name of the entering company, name of the network/brand (if any), the title of the entry, and name of the category. One complimentary award (Tower or Diploma) will be sent to each winner. The Winners Gallery on our website can feature up to twenty names and corresponding job titles. Customized Diplomas with up to ten names and titles will be available for purchase through our store following the Storytellers Gala.

Finalist Diploma winners will receive a Diploma listing the year of the competition, the name of the entering company, name of the brand/network/platform, the title of the entry, name of the category, and ten names with corresponding job titles. All Student winners will receive a Diploma.

Shortlisted entries when notified will be given the opportunity to update and correct credits and shipping addresses. However, if no corrections are made, credits and shipping information listed during the entry process will be considered the credits of record. Requests for credit changes after the official winners announcement can be charged a $100 fee per entry to cover additional administrative costs.

New York Festivals will send one award for each winning entry only once. Winning trophies will be shipped to the entering contact shipping address only. Any return and re-shipping costs will be paid for by the entrant.

Following the gala, you may purchase personalized trophies for the individuals involved in the creation of the work via our eStore. Any shipping costs and customs duties are paid by the winning entrant.

All entries must use the following standards for text formatting. These standards allow us to better judge and showcase your work.

TITLE OF ENTRY FORMAT
Proper Case (all first letters capitalized) must be used in the title and brand name. Do not use all capital or all lower-case letters. Do not enclose the entry title in quotes or angle brackets. (< >)

PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES
include the name of the performer followed by the title of the program.

EXAMPLE
Actor First and Last Name, Program Title

The character limit for Entry Titles is 40 characters including spaces.

Series entries must be named with a single series title or with individual program titles separated by slashes.

SINGLE ENTRY EXAMPLE
Title Of Entry

SERIES EXAMPLE
Title One / Title Two

SERIES EXAMPLE WITH OVERALL TITLE
Series Title of Entry

TRANSLATION & BACKGROUND SUMMARY
Include text in Sentence Case (first letter of each sentence capitalized). Do not use all capital or all lowercase letters.

Please do not use quote marks or angle brackets or parenthetical marks of any kind within the translation or summary—this will give an error message and you will not be able to complete your submission.

EXAMPLE
This entry is a children’s program. It is targeted toward ages 8 to 14.

BRANDS AND CO-PRODUCTIONS
The character limit for Brands and Co-productions is 40 characters including spaces. Please separate partners with slashes.

CREDITS
Please list individual credits in order of importance with the highest credit first. Production and Talent names and job titles must be in Proper Case (all first letters capitalized). Do not use all capital or all lower-case letters. There is a separate field for each name and each title. The character limit for each line of Credits is 80 characters including spaces.

DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW
New York Festivals displays your entries in an encoded format to our online Grand Jury to judge. Access is password protected. Judges have commented that Time Code or watermarks are distracting so we ask that you submit the streamed/on-air/final version of your entry.

All entries can be uploaded through our online entry process. We no longer use FTP as a means of delivery. We no longer accept entries on tape-based media. We accept only QuickTime (.mov) files. We recommend that all entries be uploaded. All uploaded videos must use H.264 compression and have a QuickTime (.mov) or (.mp4) wrapper.

Once uploaded and cycled through our system, no other entrants can view your uploaded submissions. Once uploaded, even you cannot see your entry unless you wait 48 hours and use your invoice link to preview your entry.

If your entry is within a url, we suggest you send your video as a QuickTime (.mov) file. If you use vimeo, you must select the download option.

Remember, if you are submitting a series entry, each piece must be uploaded separately.

If you wish, you may request a dropbox link for your convenience.

If you have additional questions, please contact our Processing and IT departments at processing@newyorkfestivals.com

GLOSSARY OF TERMS
In order to assist you in the upload process, we have compiled a glossary of formatting terms.

FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL)
A standard for transferring files from one computer to another over the internet.

COMPRESSION
Reduces the size of your file.

BIT RATE
The amount of data used for each second of video. It controls visual quality and file size. Also known as data rate.

FRAME RATE
Most videos are shot between 24 – 60 frames per second.

FRAME SIZE/CANVAS/RESOLUTION
The dimension in pixels of the compressed file.

CODEC/ENCODING
H.264 is the only codec we accept.

WRAPPER
The file type/extension. Example: .mov; .mp4; .wmv. We accept QuickTime files (.mov) and (.mp4).

ENTRY TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

BARS & TONE/SLATES
Do not use Bars & Tone. Do not use a countdown. Entries may not be divided into chapters. Entries may use a single title graphic (slate) to identify the entry, if desired. Please note on your slate whether your entry is 16x9 or 4x3. Use 16 x 9 full frame, not anamorphic. Micro-dramas and verticals use native format.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS PROGRAM LENGTH UNDER 1HR
Format: 1920x1080 (16:9) H.264
Progressive scan (23.98) preferred
Video Encode: CBR (Constant Bite Rate) 10Mbps
Audio Encode: AAC 320 kbps, 48KHz
Aspect: Square Pixels (1.0)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS PROGRAM LENGTH OVER 1HR
Format: 1920x1080 (16:9) H.264 Progressive scan (23.98) preferred
Video Encode: CBR (Constant Bite Rate) 7Mbps
Audio Encode: AAC 320 kbps, 48KHz
Aspect: Square Pixels (1.0)

FOR SD FILES
Use the H.264 at Main Level compression profile.

FOR HD FILES
Use the H.264 at High-Level compression profile.

HOW TO UPLOAD YOUR ENTRIES
After you receive your confirmation email for your closed cart, you will need to input the piece details including title, entry format, background summary, and translation (if not in English). Then you will be able to upload your entries by clicking the upload box next to each entry. Please make sure that you upload (attach) all pieces of your entries.

Series entries may consist of up to three pieces (either complete episodes or segments) that best represent the entire series. If your series entry has three pieces, you will have three files to upload. Please upload them in the order you wish the judges to view them.

All entries can upload a supplemental information piece to accompany the submission.

Please see “How to enter” for Confirmation Number and Piece Details.

IF YOUR ENTRIES ARE URL/LINKS
If you use this option, we recommend that you follow the file size and formats above. You must keep the links active through the entire process and we will need .mov or .mp4 files for the ceremony and winners showcase.

ENTRIES SUBMITTED BY POST OR BY COURIER
We no longer accept this form of delivery. It is costly for entrants. Entrants must upload their submissions. Uploading gives entrants maximum control over their submissions and ensures better quality for the jury’s evaluation. If you are unable to upload, please contact processing for additional assistance.

DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW
Entries and materials submitted will not be returned and may be displayed, shown, duplicated, published, or reproduced for educational and/or promotional purposes as New York Festivals® deems appropriate. By entering, the entrant agrees to hold New York Festivals® and any of its affiliated companies exempt from any costs or expenses of any claim arising out of any such use.

Entrants have the option to not have their entry shown in its entirety on our websites by exercising the option listed on the online entry form. Entrants who exercise that option may upload trailers once judging has concluded if they desire to showcase their winning entries.

New York Festivals® assumes no responsibility for the acts or omissions of those individuals or entities submitting entries pursuant to this notice. By entering, entrants guarantee they have obtained the permission of the rights-holder for any submission.

All submitting entities and/or individuals are advised to review submissions with respect to correct name credits and other information.