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Vice TV (also known as Vice on TV, or simply Vice, and formerly known as Viceland) is an American
basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million American households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found ...
television channel that launched on February 29, 2016. It is a part of the
Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps; also known as Vice TV in the United States) is a brand used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. The brand launched on February 29, 2016, with two cable channels in North America. The Vice ...
family of television channels programmed by
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...
. A joint venture with
A&E Networks A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...
, Vice replaced H2 on most multichannel television providers in the United States. Vice originally operated under the creative direction of film director
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
, and had a focus on lifestyle-oriented documentary and reality series aimed towards
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the 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 2000s as ...
s; including new original series, and adaptations and reruns of existing Vice web series. Amid low ratings, Vice began to retool the channel's programming in 2019 to focus more on news and documentary programming, and was brought under the
Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative 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 Ne ...
division that August. The channel adopted its current name on December 2, 2019. , Vice TV is available to approximately 45,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2015 peak of 74,000,000 households.


History


As Viceland


Pre-launch

In August 2014,
A&E Networks A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...
(a 50–50 joint venture between
Hearst Communications Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
and
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
) acquired a 10% stake in
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...
. 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.
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 In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
-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, partner content, and branded journalism, is a type of paid advertising that appears in the style and format of the content near the advertisement's placement. It manifests as a post, image, vide ...
to produce sponsored short-form content for advertisers to air in lieu of traditional commercials.
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, which co-owns A&E Networks with
Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
, made a second 10% investment of $200 million in Vice Media to support the production of new programming.


Early years and 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 am. 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 callers to leave a Voice recording, recorded message when the recipient has been unable (or unwilling) to answer the Telephone, phone. Calls may ...
. 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. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...
'', following hip-hop musician
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
. 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 and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...
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, Manhattan, East Village of Lower Manha ...
,
Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his outspoken work as an activist for LGBTQ righ ...
, and Lance Bangs. Viceland's programming initially consisted primarily of lifestyle-oriented documentaries and reality series aimed towards
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the 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 2000s as ...
s, directed in Vice's trademark style of "character-driven documentaries". Creative director
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. 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." 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 alternative 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 Ne ...
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 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 and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...
, '' Gaycation''— a series in which
Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his outspoken work as an activist for LGBTQ righ ...
explores the
LGBT culture LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals (LGBTQ people). It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA cult ...
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; also known as Vice TV in the United States) is a brand used for tel ...
''— 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, Manhattan, East Village of Lower Manha ...
"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''— which focuses on the mainstream
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
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, 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 in repeated ...
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. Emerging alongside th ...
, 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'' 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 (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
(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 four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series und ...
'' 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 Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an array of genres and ...
.


As Vice TV


Shift to news and documentaries

On February 24, 2019, the channel launched ''Vice Live'', a two-hour live show airing Mondays through Thursdays at 9 p.m. 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. 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. On April 10, 2019, Vice premiered the documentary series '' Dark Side of the Ring'', which chronicles events and figures in
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
. The series would go on to become the network's highest-rated and longest-running original series, spawning spin-offs focusing on other subjects such as football,
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
(''Dark Side of the Cage''), and specific decades in history.'''' 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'', which aired on HBO from 2016 to 2019, would re-launch in 2020 on the network. At the end of the year, Viceland would change its name to Vice TV on December 2, 2019. In April 2021, American
professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...
Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...
(MLW) announced a television deal with Vice TV. A block of MLW programming, including reruns of flagship show '' MLW Fusion'', began airing on Saturdays starting May 1. On September 17, it was announced that Vice would air MLW's
Fightland Fightland is a website covering mixed martial arts (MMA). Launched in September 2012, it is part of Vice Media, Inc. network channels. Vice Media states that ''Fightland'' is a joint venture with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ''The ...
as a television special on October 7. On May 15, 2023, Vice Media formally filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
, as part of an eventual sale to a consortium of lenders including
Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, Pete Briger, Michael Novogratz, and Randal Nardone. Overview When ...
, which will, alongside Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, invest $225 million as a credit bid for nearly all of its assets. The sale was closed in August 2023. In December 2024, it was reported that Vice TV would be placing a larger emphasis on its ''Vice Sports'' brand, introducing a primetime block on weeknights featuring sports-related programming. The block's slate for 2025 included the new college basketball documentary miniseries ''Calipari: Razor’s Edge'' (which was produced by
Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...
's
Omaha Productions Omaha Productions is an American entertainment company founded by former football quarterback Peyton Manning. It is known for producing '' Manningcast'', an alternate live television broadcast of ESPN's ''Monday Night Football'' hosted by Peyton ...
) and ''Pitino: Red Storm Rising,'' new seasons of series such as ''Dark Side of the Ring'', and other acquisitions such as Arena Football One, ''The
Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...
Show with Baron Davis'', ''Nightcap with
Shannon Sharpe Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is an American former professional football tight end who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, h ...
'', highlights of
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
-organized events and the
PDC World Darts Championship The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship is a world championship competition held annually in the sport of darts. The championship begins in December and ends in January and has ...
, and reruns of ''
American Ninja Warrior ''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...
.''


Programming

Vice's current programming includes original documentary series (such as '' Dark Side of the Ring'' and its various spin-offs), and acquired
reality shows Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
, and film telecasts.


Availability


Viewership

In August 2016, it was reported that average viewership of Vice TV'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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
nominations for its programs within its first three months of operation. Year-over-year, Vice TV lost 42% of its viewership in 2017 compared to 2016. It lost another 10% in 2018. By 2021, the channel was reported to be in 60 to 70 million households.


FAST channel

In May 2021, Vice Media launched a
free ad-supported streaming television Free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) is a category of streaming television services which offer traditional linear television programming ("live TV") and studio-produced movies without a paid subscription, funded exclusively by a ...
(FAST) channel; it is drawn from 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; also known as Vice TV in the United States) is a brand used for tel ...
'', ''Noisey'', and ''Vice Essentials''. As of 2022, the channel is available on
The Roku Channel The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the UK. The service was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. It is the most popular free ad-supported streaming televisio ...
,
Samsung TV Plus Samsung TV Plus is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned by Samsung Electronics that was introduced in 2015. The platform was designed to provide free, live streaming content for users with Samsung devices. As of 2022, the ...
and Tubi TV


See also

*
H2 (American TV channel) History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...


Notes


References

{{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 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023