YouTube, the popular online video file-sharing site, is partnering with the Sundance Film Festival to promote the event by reposting coverage from the Sundance Channel's video coverage. The first
content appeared Thursday, the first day of the festival. After the festival ends, YouTube will continue posting clips from Sundance series, films and documentaries.
As part of the
deal, Sundance will get its own branded content area on YouTube, where users can view the Sundance Channel's "Festival Dailies"--a daily wrap-up of that day's proceedings as well as filmmaker
profiles, archival footage, and other content--all to be refreshed daily. A video blog by two telegenic Sundance insiders and filmmakers, Arin Crumley and Susan Buice, will be syndicated exclusively
to YouTube as well.
The deal is just the latest in a series of agreements between YouTube and big-name content owners and providers. After early collisions over intellectual property and
copyright violations, YouTube reached an amicable agreement with NBC to promote certain NBC content on YouTube. The site signed a similar deal with CBS, and agreed with Warner Music to stream music
videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and original programming. In addition, Universal Music reached a deal licensing some content in return for a small stake in the company just before
its acquisition by Google.