The Sundance Channel will make its European debut on the French cabler Numéricable. Rainbow Media has signed a carriage agreement to launch the art house movie channel in France.
The news marks the first international distribution for the channel, which reaches more than 30 million US subscribers. Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries and original programmes. The channel was acquired by Rainbow Media in May 2008.
“Sundance Channel is a destination to discover new voices, new points of view, and new personalities; it also strives to be uniquely entertaining. Through the power of popular culture, Sundance Channel programming can provoke thought and foster understanding of worlds apart from our own,” said Sundance founder Robert Redford. “All of this makes the launch of Sundance Channel International in France particularly exciting and important to me,” he added.
Numericable, which reaches some 9.5 million households in France, has planned a three-pronged rollout for Sundance Channel, including an initial VOD launch and subsequent channel debuts in SD and HD television. The channel will air in English with French subtitles.