10.23.2007 - 02:00pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK, NY - October 23, 2007 - Larry Aidem, President & CEO, Sundance Channel announced today that the network will participate in the NBC Universal weeklong programming initiative "Green is Universal." As part of NBC Universal's unprecedented corporate-wide focus on environmental issues, Sundance Channel will reprise its popular series "It's Not Easy Being Green" and "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" each night beginning at 8pm e/p from November 4 through 10 as well as broadcast its regularly scheduled destination THE GREEN on Tuesday November 6 at 9pm e/p. Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, CBS and Robert Redford. (See separate NBC Universal corporate release on "Green Is Universal" on www.nbcumv.com.)

Aidem said "Sundance Channel is extremely proud to be part of NBC Universal's 'Green is Universal' initiative; it is critical to continue to raise public awareness around environmental issues and the more avenues there are to access information, the better, especially through entertainment."

Sundance Channel will also air a series of public service announcements, called "The More You Know About Green," featuring the hosts of THE GREEN environmental journalist Simran Sethi and environmental activist Majora Carter. Other interstitial pieces include Ecoists(TM).

Sundance Channel's website will feature exclusive video clips from "Its Not Easy Being Green," "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" and the documentary premiere, Radiant City. It will also feature a minisite dedicated to all things green, including tips in the GUIDE TO GREENER LIVING and a daily green blog by Treehugger. Sundance Channel's website will also feature ECO-MMUNITY, its community mini-site that allows green enthusiasts to meet and share information online. In ECO-MMUNITY users can "make their mark" on the interactive Eco-mmunity Map, search for local green businesses, take the green quiz, sign up for a wind-powered email account and send green e-cards. See www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen.

Sundance Channel will also provide Universal HD with four episodes of "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" that will air back-to-back on Friday, November 9 at 8:00pm - 10:00pm ET (5:00 - 7:00 PT) and at 11:00pm - 1:00am ET (8:00pm - 10:00pm PT).

"Its Not Easy Being Green" follows a British family of four in their quest to be self-sufficient and environmentally responsible as they leave suburban comfort for a run-down 300-year-old English farmhouse and three acres in Cornwall.

"Big Ideas for a Small Planet" is a documentary series presenting the forward-thinking designers, products and processes that are on the leading edge of a new green world. Each episode revolves around a different green theme as it spotlights a specific innovator or innovation that has the potential to transform our everyday lives.

THE GREEN on November 6 features "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Kids" followed by the U.S. Television premiere of the feature Radiant City which looks at the impact of suburban sprawl.

“It’s Not Easy Being Green”
Join the Strawbridge family in their quest to be self-sufficient and environmentally responsible as they leave suburban comfort for a run-down 300-year-old English farmhouse and three acres in Cornwall. During the course of this eight-part British documentary series, engineer Dick Strawbridge, wife Brigit, son James and daughter Charlotte plan to harness a nearby stream to generate electricity, grow their own vegetables and raise a pig or two

November 4, 8pm e/p
Episode One: The Strawbridges move in and build an aqueduct to bring the stream to a waterwheel. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Fuel" at 8:30 pm.

November 5, 8pm e/p
Episode Two: Brigit's gardening guru visits to see how her vegetables are progressing. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Build" at 8:30 pm.

November 6, 8pm e/p
Episode Three: The family builds a very green greenhouse and constructs a solar shower. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Wear" at 8:30 pm.

November 7, 8pm e/p
Episode Four: The family's new life begins to pay dividends after nearly three months of hard work. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Eat" at 8:30 pm.

November 8, 8pm e/p
Episode Five: Dick and Brigit get advice on how to heat their damp farmhouse as winter nears. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Drive" at 8:30 pm.

November 9, 8pm e/p
Episode Six: The Strawbridges install their first wind turbine to pump water from a spring. Followed by "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Pray" at 8:30 pm.

November 10, 8pm e/p
Episode Seven: The Strawbridges confront the realities of raising pigs for food - butchering time. Episode Eight 8:30pm e/p: In the final episode of season one, Dick builds a composting toilet, but will anyone want to use it?

THE GREEN
Tuesday, November 6 at 9:00pm and 11:10pm
"Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Kids" - "Kids" looks at how a new generation is learning about ecology as it profiles subjects including: Evan Green, who was 7 years old when he founded the Red Dragon Conservation Team, which has saved 16 acres of Costa Rican rainforest from exploitation; Sara Laimon, creator of Plastics are Forever, an outreach program led by high school students to focus community attention on plastic problems and solutions; and Barbera Aimes, who created an alternative to landfill-clogging, chemically toxic plastic toys with ImagiPLAY, a line of playthings made from renewable, non-splintering rubberwood.

9:30pm
Radiant City (U.S. Television Premiere) – Directed by Gary Burns, Jim Brown. This Canadian film packs a few surprises as it explores the modern face of suburbia, where life unfolds in discrete residential, commercial and civic "pods." Several urban design professionals and academics, including the hilariously acerbic author James Howard Kunstler, address the principles behind North American subdivisions and their impact on individuals, the environment and society as a whole. But Radiant City does more than theorize: it goes inside the not-quite-completed community of Evergreen to follow the routines of a quintessential suburban family of five, the Mosses.

“Green is Universal”
NBC Universal expands its ongoing environmental commitment with "Green is Universal" - an unprecedented, companywide weeklong programming effort. Through its worldwide programming, specials and consumer-focused events, the week will focus the entire company's resources and efforts toward educating viewers, web & wireless users, and the company's employees on ecological issues and our impact on the environment. NBCU's weeklong global event takes place Sunday, November 4 through Saturday, November 10, 2007.

THE GREEN

Launched on April 17, 2007, THE GREEN on Sundance Channel presents original series and documentary premieres about the earth’s ecology and concepts of "green" living that balance human needs with responsible care for the planet. THE GREEN is designed to be both inspiring and entertaining, with an emphasis on information, practical advice and community building. Presented by Robert Redford, the destination is hosted by award-winning journalist Simran Sethi and community advocate and MacArthur Fellow Majora Carter, two dynamic leaders who have distinguished themselves with revolutionary ideas in such areas as civic planning and global business practices.

Sundance Channel

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, CBS and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel’s website address is www.sundancechannel.com.

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