Analyst: Sundance Channel Up for Sale

Potential Suitors Include Time Warner, Viacom, Cablevision Systems

By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/20/2008 8:12:00 AM

Sundance Channel, a joint venture of NBC Universal, CBS and actor-director Robert Redford, is shopping itself around, according to Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield.

In a report issued Tuesday, Greenfield said the 12-year-old cable channel has been looking for a buyer for the past several weeks, at a cost of $400 million, and suggested that Time Warner, Viacom and Cablevision Systems could be potential matches. Sundance has not yet commented on the report.

Sundance -- which is available in 26 million homes on digital tiers and partners with advertisers for sponsorships rather than commercial spots -- has used its association with Redford's Sundance Institute and Film Festival to brand itself as a haven for independent film and alternative programming.

In addition to its runs of indie films, the channel introduced a number of original programs, including its Iconoclasts interview series, which pairs two celebrities of different professions, and its eco-block The Green.