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 from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and will continue throughout 2007 with original series, films and documentaries.

Sundance Channel’s coverage of the 2007 Film Festival will include a branded area on YouTube that will host a range of video clips including “Festival Dailies” (a 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.

“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.