The ATX Television Festival has canceled its event set for June amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus, and will instead hold a virtual event.
“Perhaps now more than ever, we believe that TV is a powerful medium for change and empathy. We are committed to our mission of fully serving and fostering our community at all times,” said festival co-founders Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson. “For this reason, and to ensure the ongoing safety of all, this year we will not be having a physical festival in Austin, but instead we will be celebrating Television where we all enjoy it, the couch! We are excited to announce that ATX Television Festival Season 9 will be a virtual weekend (June 5 – 7, 2020) where we can still come together and celebrate our love of TV and its ever evolving forms, especially during times like these. We’re calling it ‘ATX TV…from the Couch!’
“This will be a television experience unlike anything we’ve done before, and we are emboldened by the possibilities we are discussing with our panelists and partners. We are confident we can continue to have great conversations, showcase new and old favorite series, and interact with our incredible community…with a lot of fun surprises along the way. The one thing we know is that talking about TV from the place where we watch it…our living rooms…simply makes sense.
While we are sad not to be coming together physically this summer, we are excited to experience #TVTogether virtually for Season 9, and return live and in person for Season 10 (June 10 – 13, 2021). We’ll have more information for y’all in the coming weeks about our virtual TV Camp for Grown Ups as it will be making its way to your small screens soon.”
The ATX TV Festival is the latest entertainment event to be shuttered while the COVID-19 disease spreads around the globe. This leaves San Diego Comic-Con, scheduled for July, as the last major event through the summer that has yet to be called off.