Rogers and Vice Media’s $100 million bet is about to come into its own.
Announced last year, the content, studio and distribution partnership will see the creation of Viceland, a new 24-hour specialty channel that desires to be a “world-class Canadian production studio.”
“[Viceland will] examine the world we live in, and explore the things that confuse us, make us curious, make us laugh, or awaken our sense of wonder,” said Vice Canada’s Michael Kronish in an interview with MobileSyrup.
Some of the titles you can expect to see on the channel are Gaycation with Ellen Page, Black Market with Michael K. Williams, and Terror with VICE Media Co-Founder Suroosh Alvi. Other in-development projects include a documentary called Cyberwar; RISE, an unscripted entertainment series; Abandonment Issues; Dead Set on Life; Payday; and Shroom Boom.
Rick Brace, president of Rogers Media, talking about what the partnership represents, said “this is really the beginning of a new direction, a new strategy. To be able to partner with the great people at Vice and to be able to deliver content that’s going to be really targeted to the millennials, which now make up 30 percent of our population and $1.2 billion of revenue, is really an area we weren’t playing in but felt we had to.”
Viceland will focus on millennials — those currently aged 18 to 34 — who crave content, specifically engaging video experiences.
There will also be a mobile play, both on tablets and smartphones, but how the entire package will be integrated is something Rogers says it’s not ready to talk about. The company previously noted, “additional details on how viewers can access Viceland content will be announced in the coming weeks.”
Brace hinted there might be a bundled play in the works, similar to how Fido has its Daily Vice news feed for Fido customers. The company is thinking about developing a system where TV subscribers will have their subscription authenticated, granting them access to the channel on a mobile device. In addition, Brace says a dedicated Viceland app is in development, but that it won’t be ready for the launch of the channel.
Viceland goes live on February 29th at 5:00am EST. Rogers will offer a free three month trial.
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