Sundance Channel Video Clips Available on YouTube in 2007

Sundance Channel Video Clips Available on YouTube in 2007

Strategic Content Partnership Kicks Off With Video Clips from Sundance Channel's coverage of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, including Video Blog by Filmmakers on YouTube

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundance Channel today announced a strategic relationship with YouTube which will make excerpts from Sundance Channel content available on YouTube in 2007. The arrangement will kick off with content produced by Sundance Channel from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and will continue throughout 2007 with clips from Sundance Channel's original series, films and documentaries. The announcement was made today by Christopher Barry, Vice President, Digital Media and Business Strategy, Sundance Channel.

Sundance Channel's coverage of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival will include a Sundance Channel-branded area on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/sundancechannel) that will host a range of video clips including "Festival Dailies" (Sundance Channel's daily wrap-up show from the Festival), profiles of filmmakers in competition at the Festival, archival video clips from past Festivals and in-depth coverage of the Festival by YouTube users Arin Crumley and Susan Buice. New content will be published each day of the Sundance Film Festival and will be featured prominently on YouTube. The content will also be featured on Sundance Channel's website in a revamped minisite dedicated to the Sundance Film Festival (http://www.sundancechannel.com/festival).

"We are thrilled to announce this relationship with YouTube to extend the reach of Sundance Channel video content. Sundance Channel's coverage of the Sundance Film Festival is a great way to start things off and we hope to build a community of YouTube fans throughout 2007," commented Barry.

"Sundance Channel's innovative programming is a welcome addition to YouTube and further proves how the site offers a rich environment for both quality content and new advertising models for partners," said Kevin Donahue, Vice President Content, YouTube. "This is one example of how we're enabling the discovery of compelling content, while embracing the independent film community, our users and partners."

Sundance Channel will syndicate a video blog created by Crumley and Buice exclusively to YouTube. Crumley and Buice will serve as Sundance Channel correspondents during the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and will document their daily experiences from a Festival-attendee and independent filmmaker perspective. Crumley and Buice have pioneered new strategies for independent film distribution through digital technology including podcasts, custom Google maps and a recent screening of their film in the virtual world, Second Life. Four Eyed Monsters has been nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (Best Cinematography and the John Cassavetes Award) and recently won the indieWIRE Undiscovered Gems audience award.

Sundance Channel's Festival minisite will include all content available on YouTube, plus exclusive photos and a blog hosted by Peter Bowen, Senior Editor of Filmmaker Magazine, who will follow the buzz around films and acquisitions.

About Sundance Channel

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, Showtime Networks Inc. and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel's website address is http://www.sundancechannel.com/.

About YouTube

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on http://www.youtube.com/ and across the Internet through websites, blogs, and e-mail. YouTube has quickly become the leading destination on the Internet for video entertainment.

Source: Sundance Channel

CONTACT: Sarah Eaton, +1-212-708-8043, sarah.eaton@sundancechannel.com;
or Katie Lanegran, +1-212-708-8044, katie.lanegran@sundancechannel.com; or
Aaron Ferstman, YouTube, +1-650-827-6068, aaronf@youtube.com

Web site: http://www.sundancechannel.com/
http://www.youtube.com/sundancechannel
http://www.youtube.com/

-------
Profile: intent