Home Box Office and VICE announced today, March 26, that they are forming a major news partnership that will expand VICE’s Emmy-winning news programming to HBO users over the next four years.
VICE’s intense journalism and other breaking news content will be brought to subscribers in a wide-range of formats. This means an increase in HBO’s current events coverage. The multiple formats available for users will include:
A VICE daily newscast. The newscast will consist of five half-hour shows per week, 48 weeks per year.
A weekly series on HBO. This will be a four-year extension (with an increase from 14 to 35 episodes a year) of the Emmy-winning documentary show.
A four-year commitment for an increased number of VICE-produced specials. There will be a total of 32 through 2018.
Also, a VICE channel on the HBO NOW streaming service will provide instant access to VICE content for all HBO users.
Richard Plepler, CEO of HBO, and Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, stated ” Shane and the VICE team have produced some of the most groundbreaking and dynamic journalism anywhere. From the front lines in the Ukraine, to the icebergs of Antarctica and the streets of Ferguson, VICE news has helped illuminate and expand our understanding of an increasingly complex world. This extension of the HBO/VICE relationship, which will include more shows, more documentaries and even a VICE daily newscast, is a natural evolution of our partnership. All of us at HBO couldn’t be more excited working with the VICE team and helping to tell the stories which define our world.”
Founder and CEO of VICE, Shane Smith, commented “I think the first thing, perhaps the hardest thing, I learned about journalism over the past 20 years is that maintaining any type of independence, any type of freedom, is difficult as you scale up. This deal, simply put, allows VICE the freedom to go after any story, anywhere we find it – and to do so with complete independence. This deal is a tremendous gift and a tremendous opportunity, and we at VICE realize this. Together with HBO, we will expand our news offerings to viewers everywhere, creating HBO’s first-ever daily newscast, producing hard-hitting specials, like our recent Special Report on cancer, and expanding our weekly news round-ups from around the world. Over the the last few years, our relationship with HBO has morphed from a great business partnership into a transformative brand-builder. This groundbreaking deal will create a new voice in news.”
This huge partnership is a result of the success of current VICE series on HBO. Last August, the recent series won a Primetime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Informational Series or Special. It has rapidly become an alternative voice and source for raw documentary-style news.
The VICE weekly series is dedicated to exploring today’s most pressing issues from around the globe. It finds the truth and exposes it to viewers all over the world. VICE covers everything from civil unrest and hotbeds of terrorism, to unchecked government corruption, lawless borders and looming environmental catastrophes. The series on HBO runs on Fridays from 11-11:30 p.m. 32 episodes of VICE will offer HBO viewers in-depth investigations of pressing topics.