Sky announces partnership with Vice Media to launch Viceland later this year
Sky has announced a partnership with Vice Media to show its new TV channel Viceland on Sky and Now TV when it launches in the UK later this year.
The 24-hour channel, which launched in the US in Feburary will be available for all Sky TV customers in their basic TV subscription packages upon its UK and Ireland launch in September.
Sky’s partnership with Vice is a non-exclusive however, it will give Sky and Now TV customers added perks including on-demand access to selected Viceland series 24 hours before they air on the channel.
Ahead of the launch, Sky Q customers, Sky’s next generation home entertainment system, will be able to start watching content from Vice’s digital channels in Sky Q’s online video section in the coming weeks.
Vice chief executive, Shane Smith, described the partnership as “the biggest move yet in our long love affair with our British and Irish audience. Partnering with Sky gives us their deep expertise in the market, and the ability to reach over 10 million households across the UK and Ireland. This is the just the latest top-level partnership to establish the Vice presence on all screens, at all times, in all places."
"We are really excited about what Shane and the Vice team have planned for Viceland," said Stephen van Rooyen, chief marketing officer at Sky. “Vice has become synonymous with fresh and original content which has huge appeal for younger audiences. We are committed to bringing exciting new shows from all around the world to ensure Sky and Now TV households have a real breadth of content to enjoy whenever and wherever they choose.”
Vice also plans to use Viceland to shake things up on the advertising front by reducing the ad time during its programming and while also increasing the amount of native ads.