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ITVS MISSION
ITVS was established by Congress to fund and present innovative public television programs. ITVS is committed to programming that addresses the needs of underserved audiences, particularly minorities and children.
APPLYING TO ITVS
Please read the guidelines for the funding initiative to which you are applying carefully and complete the application thoroughly. Incomplete applications will not be processed. For each review period you may submit only one application, for one program in only one funding initiative.
INDEPENDENT PRODUCER ELIGIBILITY
- Applicants must be "independent producers." This means that the individual applicants a) own the copyright of their production; b) have artistic, budgetary and editorial control of their project, and; c) are not regularly employed by a public or commercial broadcast entity or film studio.
- The independent producer must be at least 18 years old and a citizen or legal resident of the United States or its external territories.
- Applicant or co-applicant must have some previous film or television production experience in a principal role (producer, co-producer, director or co-director) as demonstrated by a sample tape of previously completed work submitted with application.
- Only one applicant may apply to Diversity Development Fund per project. Co-applicants are not permitted.
- Students are not eligible.
- Organizations such as universities, foundations, and nonprofit media organizations are not eligible.
- Producers representing foreign-based production entities are not eligible.
- Independent producers who are current signatories of an ITVS contract may not apply until final delivery is completed.
- Independent producers may only have one proposal under consideration at ITVS at any time. If the applicant has submitted a proposal for one funding initiative, he/she will need to contact ITVS programming staff to determine whether or not the project is still under consideration before applying to another funding initiative.
- Independent producers may submit only one proposal per round.
ITVS IS LOOKING FOR
- programs that will bring new audiences, topics and voices to public television
- television programs in any genre, including drama, documentary, docudrama, animation, experimental works or innovative combinations
- single programs of standard broadcast length (56:40 or 26:40). In rare cases when a maker's skills, subject and story structure warrant it, ITVS will consider programs at feature lengths through the Open Call and DDF initiatives.
ITVS IS NOT LOOKING FOR PROGRAMS THAT ARE
- completed and only seeking distribution
- series proposals
- projects intended solely for theatrical release
THE DECISION TO FUND
ITVS’s main aim is to develop long-term relationships with filmmakers. The detailed guidelines for ITVS funding explain the process and criteria for program funding. There is no automatic right to ITVS funding. Decisions as to the creative merits of an application are entirely at the discretion of ITVS’s Director of Programming. Applications will be judged and may be turned down on creative merit or on other subjective grounds, such as the program’s ability to fulfill ITVS’s mission. The most common reason for not selecting a project is that the creative quality of the proposal is not strong enough to support funding in the opinion of the Director of Programming who may act on the advice of ITVS staff. All decisions regarding funding are made solely by ITVS, which is an independent nonprofit corporation, and are not within the control of any other public or private entity.
ITVS’s decision regarding funding is final. ITVS has no obligation to the applicant to release any details of ITVS’s decision-making process or internal discussions regarding the application, all of which are confidential and cannot be provided to the applicant except that, at ITVS’s sole discretion, ITVS may chose to discuss with applicants aspects of rejected submissions in an effort to improve the application for a future submission to the same or a different ITVS funding initiative. Material submitted to ITVS may be disclosed by ITVS to its employees and possibly to people outside ITVS and, therefore, ITVS cannot promise to keep confidential submitted materials.
Inevitably, many applications will have to be turned down and some applicants may be disappointed at this result. Formal appeals against the final decision cannot be considered, except that ITVS may, at its own discretion, review a claim that ITVS’s procedure for processing the application was not adhered to or was misapplied. In this case, if ITVS and the applicant cannot resolve the claim, the applicant may submit a written notice of protest to the Director of Programming within five business days of the event giving rise to the complaint. The notice shall state with particularity the basis of the protest, the facts upon which the protest is based, and include copies of any documents relevant to the claim. The Director shall review the written notice and may issue a written decision determining the validity of the protest which shall be final. All decisions by ITVS, whether regarding the choice to fund a program or regarding the application process, are final and not subject to appeal within ITVS or in any court or administrative agency.
HOW IS ITVS FUNDING DIFFERENT FROM A GRANT?
Accepted applicants will receive funding in the form of a "Production License Agreement" for production (Open Call or LInCS) or a “Development/Option Agreement” for development (DDF). Both of these contracts assign ITVS certain important rights over the production. Please read carefully the “ITVS License Agreement" note below.
THE ITVS LICENSE AGREEMENT (a.k.a. The Fine Print): A program is considered funded only after the ITVS contract has been executed. This is not a grant, but a Production License or Development/Option Agreement. ITVS contracts include the following provisions, among others.
THE INDEPENDENT PRODUCER WILL: Maintain creative, editorial and financial control of the project and own copyright to the program. Observe PBS and ITVS Program and Production Standards and other requirements. Adhere to approved program proposal, budget, production schedule and delivery dates. For Open Call and LInCs, license to ITVS for no additional fee exclusive domestic public broadcasting and DBS rights. For Open Call, license the exclusive right to package, schedule and promote the program for public broadcasting. For the Diversity Development Fund, agree not to sell, license or otherwise encumber any rights in the program including U.S. television broadcast rights during the option period. Retain the right to distribute in ancillary markets not administered by ITVS, subject to ITVS and CPB regulations. Retain a percentage of net revenues from subsidiary and ancillary distribution and share with ITVS an amount prorated to the percentage of funding ITVS invests in the cash budget of the production.
ITVS WILL: Provide production or development funds as specified in the contract. Retain the right to consult with the producer regarding creative, editorial and financial matters. Supply each funded producer with a handbook clearly describing all PBS, CPB and ITVS requirements. For Open Call funded programs, agree to offer the program free of charge to public television via an appropriate venue (PBS, PTV strands, direct-to-stations, etc.) and provide appropriate packaging, scheduling, broadcast, outreach, promotion and website support for the public television broadcast. For DDF, have an exclusive option to acquire the U.S. public television broadcast rights and other rights, up to 60 days after the receipt of all deliverables required under the contract. ITVS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO NEGOTIATE OTHER CONTRACTUAL TERMS AS NEEDED.
