Sundance Goes from Green to Red
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/28/2007 3:14:00 PM
Sundance Channel will be in the air as well as on it, thanks to a deal with Virgin America, the new U.S. airline Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson.
The cinema-driven cable channel--which recently launched a block of eco-friendly programming called The Green in the spirit of the Sundance Film Festival's environmentalist founder, Robert Redford--will now be available on Virgin's in-flight entertainment system, Red.
It is the airline's first TV deal, and will give it access to films, documentaries, and even a sneak preview of the Sundance original, Nimrod Nation, whose first two episodes will be available on Red starting Nov. 1, more than three weeks before it debuts on the channel (Nov. 26).
The content will be packaged into a branded Sundance channel "exclusively programmed for the airline." Virgin's TV lineup includes 18 on-demand TV channels and pay-per-view movies.
