A&E: Vice Media To Take Over H2 Network
Vice Media will be getting its own cable network thanks to a re-branding effort by A&E Networks to makeover their secondary history channel, H2, in a deal that will see Vice maintain editorial control, according to a report by Claire Atkinson of the New York Post.
The move comes after a recent deal that saw A&E invest $250 million to acquire a 10% stake in the edgy, counter-culture media brand after negotiations with Vice and Turner Broadcasting fell apart when both sides couldn’t agree on valuation and editorial control in a deal that would have seen Vice take over CNN’s HLN network.
Variety‘s Brian Steinberg reports that the newly branded Vice network will feature its signature brand of lifestyle-themed documentary style programming and in-the-trenches immersive style journalistic programming that has allowed Vice to grow from a Canadian punk rock news, culture, and arts magazine founded in 1994 to a multimedia powerhouse that includes a film production company, record label, and publishing imprint.
H2, which is available in more than 71 million homes, along with stable mates Lifetime, History, A&E and FYI, saw a 21% drop in viewer ratings within the coveted 18-49 demographic during the first quarter of 2015. According to Nellie Andreeva of Deadline, A&E Network head Nancy Dubuc, who will shepherd the network’s turnover just as she did when re-branding the former Biography Channel as the recently revamped FYI, had been in search of a ratings booster for the conglomerate.
Vice, whose co-founder and CEO Shane Smith continues to find new and innovative ways to incorporate Vice’s identifiable brand without sacrificing its brand integrity, recently extended their deal with Time Warner owned HBO through 2018, during which time Vice will continue to produce its weekly Emmy-winning documentary show, periodic news specials, and a five-night-a-week newscast expected to begin airing during the fourth quarter of 2015.
H2, originally launched as History International in 1996, initially focused on in-depth docu-discovery programming from around the globe before devolving into something of a catch all for reruns of original History Channel original series programming and specials. The network’s parent company, A&E Networks, is a joint venture co-owned by the Hearst Corporation and Disney-ABC Television Group.
Vice Media, originally Vice Magazine, was purchased by Canadian software millionaire Richard Szalwinski in the late 1990’s and quickly developed a reputation for provocative and politically incorrect content. After the dot com bust, Vice’s original founders, Gavin McInnes, Suroosh Alvi, and Smith reacquired the company, which re-branded in 2012 as Vice Media. In August 2013, Rupert Murdoch‘s 21st Century Fox acquired a 5% stake in Vice for a reported $70 million.
