Vice (formerly known as Viceland and also known as Vice TV) is an American
basic cable
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
television channel that launched on December 2, 2019, replacing
H2 on most multichannel television providers in the United States. It is a part of the
Viceland
Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...
family of television channels by
Vice Media
Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...
, itself a joint venture controlled by
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
.
Operating under the creative direction of film director
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
, the channel initially had a focus on lifestyle-oriented documentary and reality series aimed towards
millennial
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
s, leveraging the resources of Vice's
verticals with new original series, along with adaptations and reruns of existing Vice
web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
. The network's launch lineup featured programs hosted by existing Vice personalities such as
Action Bronson
Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper, songwriter, chef, wrestler, exotic olive oil taster, and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he embarked on his musical ...
and
Thomas Morton, as well as notable figures such as
Eddie Huang
Edwyn Charles Huang (born March 1, 1982) is an American author, chef, restaurateur, food personality, producer, and former attorney. He was a co-owner of BaoHaus, a gua bao restaurant in the East Village of Lower Manhattan. Huang previously h ...
,
Elliot Page
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...
, and
Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs (born September 4, 1972) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel, Green Day, Arcade Fire, The Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Yeah ...
.
Due to low ratings, Vice would eventually engage in
channel drift
Channel drift or network decay is the gradual shift of a television network away from its original programming, to either target a newer and more profitable audience, or to broaden its viewership by including less niche programming. Often, this ...
, shifting its focus to news and investigative programming. The channel adopted its current name on December 2, 2019.
History
In August 2014, A&E Networks acquired a 10% stake in
Vice Media
Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...
. On November 3, 2015, A&E Networks officially announced that Vice would "take over"
H2 and re-launch it as a new service, Viceland, "as early as" February 2016.
![Viceland Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Viceland_Logo.png)
Vice Media CEO
Shane Smith stated that the channel was the "next step in the evolution of our brand and the first step in our global rollout of networks around the world", signifying that Vice would now be "platform-agnostic" with the addition of television to Vice's traditionally
digital media
Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
-oriented strategy, and be capable of producing high-quality media.
In an interview with ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', Smith explained that, despite Vice traditionally being oriented towards digital content, "75 percent of the world's advertising budget" was being spent on television advertising, and that partnering with an established media company gave Vice access to A&E's infrastructure and the 70 million homes that already received H2, rather than having to build Viceland entirely from scratch and negotiate carriage with providers.
A&E Networks handles the distribution and operations of Viceland, and assists in advertising sales. Vice holds a 49% minority stake and control of international expansions.
Smith stated that the network planned to "test new and innovative monetization strategies", including a goal for only 10 minutes of commercial advertising per-hour, and to leverage Vice's existing production capabilities and experience with
native advertising
Native advertising, also called sponsored content, is a type of advertising that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. In many cases it functions like an advertorial, and manifests as a video, article or editorial. ...
to produce sponsored short-form content for advertisers to air in lieu of traditional commercials.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, who co-owns A&E Networks with
Hearst Corporation
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...
, made a second 10% investment of $200 million in Vice Media to support the production of new programming.
Prior to launch day, 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. On February 29, 2016, at 6:00 a.m. ET, the channel began broadcasting a countdown clock to the official relaunch as Viceland later in the evening, accompanied by footage of Vice executives answering the viewer-contributed calls as
voice mail
A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to ind ...
. The network's first program following the official launch was the series premiere of ''
Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
'', following hip-hop musician
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
.
Programming
Vice's programming consists primarily of lifestyle-oriented documentaries and reality series aimed towards
millennial
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
s, directed in Vice's trademark style of "character-driven documentaries".
Creative director
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
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."
Smith stated that the channel's main goal was "trying not to be shitty".
Viceland will focus primarily on lifestyle content;
Vice News
Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...
content will remain largely exclusive to Vice's existing joint venture with HBO.
Jonze stated that unlike the HBO content, Viceland would be "far from objective
eporting.
Thirty different programs were developed for Viceland, including original series and expanded versions of existing Vice's web series.
Original programs announced for the initial slate included
Thomas Morton's
''Balls Deep'', ''Flophouse''— a series where
Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs (born September 4, 1972) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel, Green Day, Arcade Fire, The Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Yeah ...
follows the lives of up-and-coming comedians at underground stand-up events,
''Fuck, That's Delicious''— a television version of the food-oriented web series starring
Action Bronson
Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper, songwriter, chef, wrestler, exotic olive oil taster, and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he embarked on his musical ...
, ''
Gaycation''— a series in which
Elliot Page
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...
explores the
LGBT culture
LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...
s of different regions, ''
Huang's World
''Huang's World'' is a 2016 American television documentary series hosted by Eddie Huang. The series premiered on 28 April 2016 on Viceland
Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television cha ...
''— featuring
Eddie Huang
Edwyn Charles Huang (born March 1, 1982) is an American author, chef, restaurateur, food personality, producer, and former attorney. He was a co-owner of BaoHaus, a gua bao restaurant in the East Village of Lower Manhattan. Huang previously h ...
"exploring identity using food as an equalizer", King of the Road— a series following skaters on Thrasher Magazine's annual scavenger hunt, ''States of Undress''— a series focusing on fashion weeks around the world, the music documentary series ''Noisey'', ''Vice World of Sports'', and ''
Weediquette
''Weediquette'' is a documentary television series following Vice Media correspondent Krishna Andavolu as he chronicles the Medical cannabis research, science, Cannabis culture, culture, and Effects of legalized cannabis, economics of the legaliza ...
''— which focuses on the mainstream
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
culture and industry.
Blocks of existing short-form content from Vice (''Vice Lab'') are also featured,
along with other, acquired content— such as Friday-night airings of
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
s accompanied by ''Vice Guide to Film'' documentaries on their directors.
10 of the 30 original programs planned were produced in Canada, including ''Cyberwar''— which focuses on
cyberterrorism
Cyberterrorism is the use of the Internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, the loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation. Acts of deliberate, la ...
, and ''Dead Set on Life''— an expansion of Matty Matheson's food-oriented web series ''Keep It Canada''.
A month after Viceland's initial launch, the network announced a second slate of shows, including ''
Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch ‘Ancient Aliens’''—a series in which Action Bronson watches episodes of ''
Ancient Aliens
''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific top ...
'' with guests whilst smoking marijuana, ''Black Market''— a series in which Michael K. Williams explores underground economies around the world, the U.S. premieres of ''Cyberwar'' and ''Dead Set on Life'', ''Party Legends''— a show about re-enactments of entertaining party stories, ''WOMAN''— a series in which Gloria Steinam features the lives of different women around the world, and ''VICE Does America''— which Abdullah Saeed and two VICE co-workers explore forgotten places of the world.
Jonze stated that Viceland's original programs will have varying lengths, stating that "some are four episodes. Some are six. Some are eight. We're making everything based on what feels right", and that extended episodes may be possible if warranted.
On May 3, 2016, Vice announced a partnership with
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
(a fellow Disney/Hearst venture) to produce sports-oriented content for its properties. The deal also includes some content-sharing between ESPN and Viceland, such as encore airings of ESPN's ''
30 for 30
''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...
'' documentaries on Viceland, and airings of ''Vice World of Sports'' on ESPN.
In June 2016, Viceland broadcast live coverage of the
Governors Ball Music Festival
The Governors Ball Music Festival (commonly known as Governors Ball or Gov Ball) is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by original founders Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an arra ...
.
On February 24, 2019, the channel launched ''Vice Live'', a two-hour live show airing Mondays through Thursdays at 9PM. The series was meant to anchor Viceland's primetime lineup and act as a replacement for ''
Desus & Mero'' after that show's hosts moved to
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
. Shortly after debuting, ''Vice Live'' was trimmed down to an hour and, due to low ratings, was eventually cancelled after its April 11, 2019 episode.
In August 2019, Vice Media announced that the channel was merging with Vice News as a part of its shift from entertainment and lifestyle programming to a news-based lineup. Earlier that month, the company had also announced that ''
Vice News Tonight
''Vice News Tonight'' is an American news program currently broadcast on Vice on TV and originally broadcast on HBO as the channel's first-ever daily series, premiering October 2016. HBO cancelled the series after three seasons, ending September ...
'', which aired on HBO from 2016 to 2019, would re-launch in 2020 on the network.
Availability
Viewership
In August 2016, it was reported that average viewership of Viceland's programming was down by nearly half over
H2 (in a period from November 28 to December 15, 2016, the network had average primetime viewership of 58,000 in the 18-49 demographic, down from 95,600 one year prior under H2). However, the median demographics of the network were beginning to skew younger than H2, and some premieres had achieved upwards of 100,000 viewers. A&E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc defended the numbers, stating that the network's goal was to "attract an audience that is not watching much TV," and that they were "trying to pivot the conversation away from just purely ratings"—noting that Viceland had already received several
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations for its programs within its first three months of operation.
Year-over-year, Viceland lost 42% of its viewership in 2017 compared to 2016. It lost another 10% in 2018.
As of 2021, Vice TV is reported to be in 60 to 70 million households.
FAST channel
In May 2021, Vice Media launched a FAST (free ad-supported TV) channel for mobile devices and Smart TV's. Among the channel's programming are former Vice TV series, such as ''
Huang's World
''Huang's World'' is a 2016 American television documentary series hosted by Eddie Huang. The series premiered on 28 April 2016 on Viceland
Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television cha ...
'', ''Noisey'', and ''Vice Essentials''. The channel is currently available on
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by Roku, Inc., which launched in September 2017.
History
In September 2017, Roku, Inc. launched a free, ad-supported streaming channel for its digital media ...
,
Samsung TV Plus
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, acco ...
and
Tubi TV
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
See also
*
H2 (American TV channel)
H2 (formerly History International) was an American specialty television channel that was owned by A+E Networks (a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and the Disney–ABC Television Group), available on multi-channel television provide ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Commons category, Vice (TV channel)
English-language television stations in the United States
.
Vice Media
A&E Networks
Joint ventures
Television channels and stations established in 2016