Gravitas Ventures Inks Deal With YouTube

LOS ANGELES, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Gravitas Ventures (www.gravitasventures.com), a leading Video on Demand (VOD) distributor of independent content, has inked a deal with YouTube, offering hundreds of independent titles to the world's largest online video site through its branded channel GravitasVOD.

GravitasVOD will feature a wide variety of independent films sourced from award-winning filmmakers, leading worldwide markets, and festival favorites from Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, and Toronto.  YouTube users will be view content on a rental or ad-sponsored basis through the YouTube media player.

"Our own branded channel on YouTube delivers on Gravitas Ventures' mission to expand our audience reach and garner the most attention for our large pool of talented filmmakers.  GravitasVOD enables our filmmakers to reach a potentially huge user base who is already accustomed to viewing streaming video online or through Web-connected devices," said Michael Murphy, Senior Vice President of Gravitas Ventures. "We look forward to working with YouTube to provide high-quality content that is sure to resonate with members of its global community."

Gravitas Ventures and YouTube will launch the branded channel with more than 100 films, including American Meth narrated by Val Kilmer, Death of a Ghost Hunter, and Vols. 1-7 of the critically acclaimed documentaries series Graffiti Verite.  An estimated 500 films will be available by the end of the year, ranging from comedy to drama to horror.  

YouTube users can begin viewing films today on the Gravitas Ventures branded channel GravitasVOD at http://www.youtube.com/user/GravitasVOD.

About Gravitas Ventures

Gravitas Ventures specializes in the aggregation of entertainment content for worldwide distribution via established and evolving platforms in the cable Video On-demand (VOD), broadband, mobile and airline/hospitality industries. The company connects independent filmmakers, production and distribution companies to leading cable, satellite, telco and online distribution partners including AT&T U-verse(SM) TV, Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DISH Network®, Netflix, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV, and YouTube. Working with more than 150 content partners, Gravitas Ventures offers thousands of hours of quality entertainment comprised of feature films, documentaries, animation, alternative sports, wrestling/mixed martial arts, comedy, and music concert programming.  Recent acquisitions include critically acclaimed films such as Lance Hammer's Ballast (Sundance), Ondi Timoner's We Live in Public (Sundance), Stacy Peralta's Crips and Bloods Made in America (Sundance), Robert VanAlkemade's What Would Jesus Buy? (SXSW), Jay Jonroy's David and Layla (Cannes), Kate Churchill's Enlightened Up!, Marianna Palka's Good Dick (Sundance), Kevin Rafferty's Harvard Beats Yale: 29-29, Benson Lee's Planet B-Boy (Tribeca), Brant Sersen's Splinterheads (SXSW), James Palmer's The Ceremony (SXSW), Michael Keaton's The Merry Gentleman (Sundance), and Adam Goldstein's The Snake (SXSW).  Gravitas Ventures' mission is to deliver ideas to the digital market; bridging the gap between independent producers and cable, satellite, telco and online opportunities.

About YouTube Entertainment

YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share original videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

SOURCE Gravitas Ventures