Sundance Channel Information & Sundance Channel Links at HealthHaven.com

sundance channel
	Sundance Channel logo used from 1996 to 2002.
Launched	1996
Owned by	Rainbow Media
Headquarters	Bethpage, New York; United States
Sister channel(s)	AMC; IFC; WE tv;
Website	sundancechannel.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV	549 Sundance Channel; 1549 Sundance VOD
Dish Network	332
Cable
Available on most cable systems	Check local listings for channels

Sundance Channel is a network devoted to airing independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short films, and original programs, such as news about the latest developments from each year's Sundance Film Festival. All are shown uncut and without commercials.

[edit] History

Launched in 1996 to show independent films on TV, Sundance Channel was a joint venture of Showtime Networks (part of CBS Corporation), Universal Studios (part of NBC Universal) and Robert Redford who also acted as the creative director of the network. The channel got its name from Redford's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is an extension of Redford's non-profit Sundance Institute, a center in which independent filmmakers can harbor and extend their craft though it operates independently of both the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.

In addition to broadcasting films, the channel airs and produces original content. One such show, Anatomy of a Scene, takes a scene from a movie and breaks it apart from the perspective of the production design, costume design, the writing, the acting, and the directing.

On May 7, 2008, Rainbow Media (a subsidiary of Cablevision) announced that it has purchased Sundance Channel for $496 million.^[1]. Rainbow Media also owns the cable channels AMC, IFC, WE tv, News 12, and several others including the now-defunct Voom HD Networks.

On Wednesday, June 18, 2008, The New York Times reported that the acquisition of Sundance Channel by Rainbow Media was completed. ^[2]

Some providers such as DirecTV still offer Sundance Channel as part of the "Showtime Unlimited" package. ^[3]