It looks like there has been yet another step in the independent movie industry going corporate as Cablevision has purchased the Sundance Channel. The sale set Cablevision back about $500 million and the channel is expected to join Cablevision's Rainbow Media programming along with IFC, AMC and WE tv.

The Sundance Channel was founded in 1996 by the actor-director Robert Redford. It was an outgrowth of his Sundance Institute, an independent film organization which runs an annual film festival near Park City, Utah. Redford himself owns a six percent stake in the company, with GE (via NBC) and CBS owning the rest.

In truth, Sundance went corporate a long time ago. This is just one corporation acquiring another. Independent movies aren't really independent anymore either. You can't even make one anymore without a few million dollars in the budget. I wonder if this means the Sundance Channel will stop being so much about independent film and start being about original content.