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Viceland (stylized in all caps; also known asVice TV in the United States) is a brand used for television channels owned and programmed byVice Media. The brand launched on February 29, 2016, with two cable channels in North America. TheAmerican version (rebranded fromH2) is a joint venture majority-owned byA&E Networks (who owns a stake in Vice Media, alongside a separate ownership stake by A&E's co-owner,The Walt Disney Company). ACanadian version (rebranded from a domestic version of former A&E sibling,Bio) operated as aCategory A-licensedspecialty channel majority-owned byRogers Media; it was discontinued on March 31, 2018.
Operating under the creative direction of film directorSpike Jonze, Viceland was a lifestyle-oriented channel that primarily aired documentary and reality series aimed towardsmillennials, with new original series, along with adaptations of and reruns of existing Viceweb series. Some of the network's launch programs were hosted by existing Vice personalities such asAction Bronson andThomas Morton, as well as notable figures such asEddie Huang,Elliot Page, andLance Bangs.
Vice's first foray into television wasVBS.tv, an online video joint venture withViacom'sMTV Networks division (specifically,MTV andLogo TV). As part of the venture, MTV Networks had international television distribution rights for the content produced for VBS.tv, resulting in the creation of television specials that compiled content from the service (in the U.S., these aired onMTV2).[1] Vice later produced a series for MTV,The Vice Guide to Everything.[2] In 2013, Vice premiered aself-titled newsmagazine series forHBO.[3] The following year, HBO's parent companyTime Warner expressed interest in acquiring a stake in Vice, and proposed the possibility of Vice taking over its struggling cable news channelHLN, and revamping it as amillennial-focused service drawing from its own content. However, the deal fell through due to concerns regarding editorial control.[4][5][6]
On August 29, 2014,A&E Networks—a joint venture ofHearst Corporation andThe Walt Disney Company—acquired a 10% minority stake in Vice Media for $250 million.[7] On October 30, 2014, Vice announced a CDN$100 million joint venture with Canadian media conglomerateRogers Communications, to build a studio inToronto'sLiberty Village neighborhood for producing original content.[8] Rogers holds the minority 30% stake of the Vice Canada Studio in Toronto.[8] Rogers also announced an intent to launch Vice-branded television and digital properties in Canada in 2015. Rogers CEO Guy Laurence described the proposed studio as "a powerhouse for Canadian digital content focused on 18- to 34-year-olds" which would be "exciting" and "provocative".[9][10] In 2015, Rogers-owned television networkCity introducedVice on City—an anthology series featuring short-form content produced by Vice's Canadian outlets and reporters.[11] The Vice company had previously moved fromMontreal toNew York City due to difficulties in reaching a sufficientscale in Canada at the time. The company believed that Rogers' investment in Vice helped to better achieve these goals.[12]
Viceland's programming consists primarily of lifestyle-oriented documentaries and reality series aimed towardsmillennials, directed in Vice's trademark style of "character-driven documentaries".[8][13] Creative directorSpike Jonze stated that his goal for Viceland was to make its lineup have "a reason to exist and a strong point of view", rather than be just a "collection of shows". Jonze explained that Viceland would continue to reflect Vice's core mission of "trying to understand the world we live in by producing pieces about things we're curious about or confused about or that we think are funny. And if it doesn't have a strong point of view, then it shouldn't be on this channel."[4] Vice co-founder and CEOShane Smith stated that the channel's main goal was "trying not to be shitty".[13] Viceland originally focused primarily on lifestyle content; in the U.S.,Vice News content (including its seriesVice News Tonight) would remain largely exclusive to Vice's existing joint venture with HBO.[13] Jonze stated that unlike the HBO content, Viceland would be "far from objective [reporting]".[14]
Vice Media plans to enter into similar partnerships in international markets to further expand Viceland.[13][15]The Walt Disney Company, who co-owns A&E Networks withHearst Corporation, made a second 10% investment of $200 million in Vice Media to support the production of new programming.[16]
Thirty different programs were developed for Viceland, including original series and expanded versions of existing Vice's web series.[15] Original programs announced for the initial slate includedThomas Morton'sBalls Deep,Flophouse— a series whereLance Bangs follows the lives of up-and-coming comedians at underground stand-up events,[17]F**k, That's Delicious— a television version of the food-oriented web series starringAction Bronson,[18]Gaycation— a series in whichElliot Page explores theLGBT cultures of different regions,[19]Huang's World— featuringEddie Huang "exploring identity using food as an equalizer", King of the Road— a series following skaters on Thrasher Magazine's annual scavenger hunt,[20]States of Undress— a series focusing on fashion weeks around the world,[21] the music documentary seriesNoisey,Vice World of Sports, andWeediquette— which focuses on the mainstreamcannabis culture and industry.[4][22][23] Blocks of existing short-form content from Vice (Vice Lab) are also featured,[24] along with other, acquired content— such as Friday-night airings ofcult films accompanied byVice Guide to Film documentaries on their directors.[13][14] Ten of the thirty original programs planned were produced in Canada, includingCyberwar— which focuses oncyberterrorism, andDead Set on Life— an expansion of Matty Matheson's food-oriented web seriesKeep It Canada.[15]
Prior to its North American launch, Vice ran newspaper ads for Viceland, containing only the network's name and a phone number that, when called, invited viewers to contribute answers to questions. Pre-launch programming for Viceland began on February 29, 2016, at 5:00 a.m. ET in Canada (withBar Talk, a one-hour special hosted by Vice Canada's head of content Patrick McGuire[25]), and on the same day at 6:00 a.m. ET in the United States, broadcasting a countdown clock to the official launch later in the evening, accompanied by footage of Vice executives answering the viewer-contributed calls asvoice mail. The first program following the countdown was the series premiere ofNoisey, following hip-hop musicianKendrick Lamar.[15][26][14][22][27][28]
In June 2016, Shane Smith announced at theCannes Lions Festival that Vice Media had reached deals with local broadcasters to expand into 44 countries with the launch of editorial properties and localized Viceland networks. These include theSpecial Broadcasting Service (Australia),Econet Media (sub-Saharan Africa),The Times Group (India),Moby Media Group (Middle East),Multi Channels Asia (Southeast Asia),Sky Network Television (New Zealand),V Media Group (Canada, French-language),[29][30]Canal+ (France),Ziggo (Netherlands)[31] andTelenet (Belgium).[31]
Vice holds a 49% minority stake and control of international expansions,[13] except inAustralia; where the channel is wholly owned and operated by theSBS.
The American version is operated by a joint venture withA&E Networks, (itself a stake owner ofVice Media) and originally replacedH2.
A month after its initial launch, the U.S. version of the network announced a second slate of shows, includingTraveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch 'Ancient Aliens'—a series in which Action Bronson watches episodes ofAncient Aliens with guests whilst smoking marijuana,[32]Black Market— a series in which Michael K. Williams explores underground economies around the world, the U.S. premieres ofCyberwar andDead Set on Life,[33]Party Legends— a show about re-enactments of entertaining party stories,[34]WOMAN— a series in which Gloria Steinam features the lives of different women around the world,[35] andVICE Does America— which Abdullah Saeed and two Vice co-workers explore forgotten places of the world.[34] In October 2016, the network launched alate-night talk show,Desus & Mero, hosted byDesus Nice andThe Kid Mero.[36] The program ran through June 2018, when it was cancelled after the duo signed withShowtime to host arebooted version (which premiered in early-2019).[37]
In 2019, Viceland began to pivot its U.S. operations to include a larger focus on news programming: on February 29, the network launchedVice Live—a two-hour "variety show" aired Monday–Thursday nights from Vice's Brooklyn headquarters, which featured coverage of the day's trends, reports from Vice's international bureaus, guest appearances, as well as other freeform content. The show was cancelled on April 15.[38][39] That month, Viceland also premieredDark Side of the Ring, a documentary series on controversial events inprofessional wrestling.[40] The series would become Viceland's highest-rated premiere, and was renewed for a second season.[40] After HBO ended its partnership with Vice News,Vice News Tonight was subsequently picked up by Viceland.[41] In February 2020, in the lead-up to the program's re-launch, the U.S. network was quietly renamedVice TV.[42]
On November 15, 2016, Australian public broadcasterSpecial Broadcasting Service (SBS) re-launched its SBS2 channel asSBS Viceland. The re-branded channel initially featured Viceland's programming and other newly commissioned content, alongside original news, entertainment, and sports programming carried over from its previous branding.[43] In recent years, the channel has featured less programming from Vice.[citation needed]
ACanadian version launched concurrently with the U.S. version as a relaunch ofThe Biography Channel, withRogers Media as a managing partner.[12][14] Separately, plans were made withV Media Group to create a channel in French Canada.[44] To comply withCanadian content regulations, it also produced some of its own programming (sourced primarily from a Toronto studio it co-founded with Rogers); Vice co-founderSuroosh Alvi stated the programs were being produced
Viceland would view its Canadian productions as being of global interest, as opposed to aregulatory obligation of little interest of non-Canadians; one-third of the network's first slate of original programming are Canadian productions from the new facility.[8]
In November 2017, Canadian newspaperThe Globe and Mail reported that Rogers intended to cease providing funding to Viceland in early 2018, citing inside reports of low viewership and unprofitability. Representatives of both companies declined to comment.[45] On January 22, 2018, Rogers and Vice jointly announced a termination of their partnership, with the Viceland channel discontinued on March 31, 2018. Vice inherited complete ownership of the Toronto production studio and the original content produced for the channel as the Vice website will stream Viceland's programming in Canada.[46] Plans for a French-language channel were also dropped; V Media Group will feature Vice content in French on its channels.[47]
On August 16, 2018, Vice announced a new long-term output deal withBell Media, with its programming being aired by Bell platforms such asCrave andMuch.[48]
On March 9, 2016, Vice Media announced that it would launch Viceland in the United Kingdom in September 2016 as part of a partnership withSky, marking its first international launch. This includes carriage on its satellite and over-the-topNow TV services, access to Vice apps onSky Q set-top boxes, and timed exclusivity for video-on-demand/Sky Go access. Sky will handle advertising sales for the channel which is available in Ireland.[49][50]
Low ratings were reported of the British and Irish version, where some programs premiered to viewership so low that they failed to register ratings. A Sky representative defended the channel, noting the steady growth and accolades of the U.S. network.[51]
On July 17, 2017, Viceland launched a block oflate night anime in partnership withAnime Limited.[52] Viceland changed its name toVice on TV in 2018.[53]
As of July 21, 2018, Vice on TV is now available on Virgin Media channel 219.[citation needed] A temporary duplicate launched on channel 191 on Virgin Media at midnight on July 22, 2018, a slot previously vacated byW HD prior to theUKTV channels' removals, until the network was restored on August 11, 2018.[citation needed] The channel was removed from Virgin Media on July 20, 2020.[citation needed]
The channel closed on May 1, 2021.[54]
Viceland started broadcasting in theNetherlands and Flanders on March 1, 2017, initially exclusively to the cable-operatorZiggo, owned byVodafoneZiggo.[55] Viceland had concluded a deal withLiberty Global, 50% owner of VodafoneZiggo.[citation needed] On June 15, 2017, Viceland started with the local cable operatorCaiway.[56] Only on July 18, 2018, Viceland managed to obtain distribution withKPN, a national provider and competitor to Ziggo, resulting in nationwide availability. At the same time distribution started withT-Mobile Thuis, another national operator.[57] Viceland Nederland produces a few Dutch productions and was in the beginning of its existence in the news for having a documentary with Geert Wilders.
In Belgium, Viceland Vlaanderen started with Telenet, the Flemish cableprovider majority owned by Liberty Global on March 1, 2017.[58] Viceland Belgique, a French-speaking Belgian version of Viceland started on June 1, 2017, together with the launch of the Dutch version on the national IPTV provider Proximus.[59][60] In October 2017 also VOO (operator for French speaking Belgium) and provider Orange started distributing Viceland[61] giving Viceland national distribution in Belgium.
In the Netherlands and Flanders, the television channel was renamed to Vice TV on November 1, 2019.[62]
Vice TV ceased existing in the Netherlands and Flanders on August 24, 2020.[63]
A Viceland programming block was aired onOutdoor Channel in Malaysia from August 2016.[64]
VICE (channel 183) will be removed from our Sky EPG (Electronic Program Guide) on Friday 30 April.
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