Vice launching daily news and OTT channel with HBO

Youth content brand Vice is launching a daily news service on HBO in the US and a branded channel on the premium cabler’s upcoming OTT service HBO Now.

The half-hour Vice daily newscast will be stripped through the week on HBO as part of a renewed, wider programming deal between and Time Warner’s HBO and Vice, which counts 21st Century Fox and A+E among its backers.

Under the terms of the deal there will also be more regular instalments of Vice’s weekly magazine show, which sets out to delve into stories traditional media outlets overlook.

The episode order increasing from 14 to 35 shows a year under the terms of the new HBO-Vice deal. There will also be 32 Vice specials on HBO.

The pair said that Vice will also have a branded ‘channel’ with the HBO Now OTT service. It will launch on Apple’s iOS devices and PCs next month and include all of Vice’s output for HBO.

“Shane and the VICE team have produced some of the most groundbreaking and dynamic journalism anywhere,” said Richard Plepler, CEO of HBO, and Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming in a joint statement.

They added: “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.”

Vice founder and CEO Shane Smith added:  “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 realise this.

“This groundbreaking deal will create a new voice in news.”