VBS.tv was an online television network owned 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 ...

'', and later absorbed into

VICE.com ''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, ...

. The network produced original, short-form, documentary-style video content under the auspice of

VICE Films 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); ...

. Subject matter included humanitarian issues, music, insider travel guides, and news. The creative director of the network was

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 ...

History

Formation

VBS began as a deal between

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

-owned

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

and Logo Group. In March 2007, the network was formed; MTV funded the formation of the network, and Vice magazine would supply the content. MTV has rights to distribute VBS content across its worldwide network of channels.A Guerrilla Video Site Meets MTV
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 19 November 2007 According to ''Vice'' co-founder

Suroosh Alvi Suroosh Alvi (; born ) is a Canadian journalist and filmmaker. He is the co-founder of Vice Media, a digital media and broadcasting brand that operates in more than 50 countries. Alvi is a travelled journalist and an executive producer of film, ...

, "traditional journalism always aspires to objectivity, and since day one with the magazine we never believed in that...Our ethos is subjectivity with real substantiation. I don't think you see that on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

."The Snarky Vice Squad Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously. Seriously.

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

. 18 October 2007

Circulation

VBS videos are available via the network's website, as well as being broadcast on

MTV Latin America MTV is a Latin American pay television network that was launched on 1 October 1993 as the Hispanic American version of MTV. It is owned by Paramount Networks Americas, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The channel broadcasts music videos as well ...

and

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

. VBS is currently featured as a weekly show on MTV2. VBS.tv content has appeared in CNN as part of their CNN presents line-up, with CNN stating that "... We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers." Much of it is now available at VICE.com.

Content

The network's videos feature reporting on popular culture, travel, extreme sports, and music. The site has also produced special-interest and current affairs-based shows such as an interview with

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

's self-proclaimed mayor of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and a show that explored allegations of environmental abuse. It has also approached drug issues, producing a documentary about the criminal use of the drug

scopolamine Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting ...

in Colombia, a report on cocaine smuggling submarines and a documentary on hallucinogenic frogs in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

. Other coverage includes a series of short documentaries about

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

and suicide in Japan's

Aokigahara Aokigahara (), also known as the , is a forest on the northwestern flank of Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu in Japan, thriving on of Igneous rock, hardened lava laid down by the last major Historic eruptions of Mount Fuji, eruption of Moun ...

Forest.Oshida, Emily. "The Forest turns Japan's suicide forest into an obstacle course for Americans", ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...

'', 8 January 2016 The network also produced ''

Heavy Metal in Baghdad ''Heavy Metal in Baghdad'' is a 2007 rockumentary film following filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi as they track down the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda amidst the Iraq War. Synopsis In 2003, the Iraqi heavy-metal band Acrassicauda ...

'', a feature-length documentary film about

Acrassicauda Acrassicauda is an Iraqi thrash metal band formed in 2001 in Baghdad and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. It is often credited as the first heavy metal group to emerge from Iraq. The original band consisted of four members and played concer ...

. The director of content of the network was Santiago Stelley.Derrick, Lisa. "Vice TV: Revolutionary, Bold Pop Culture Explorations", ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', 12 November 2009

Filmography

References

External links

Official VBS.tv website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vbs.Tv Vice Media American entertainment websites Entertainment companies based in New York City American companies established in 2007 Internet properties established in 2007 Paramount Media Networks .