Walt Disney Company will invest $200 million in edgy video maker Vice Media, known for its coverage of current affairs for the Millennial generation, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Vice Media said it would take over H2, a spinoff from the History channel that is owned by A&E Networks – a joint venture of Disney, Hearst Corp and NBC Universal Inc. A&E had invested $250 million for a 10 per cent stake in Vice last year, then valuing the company at $2.5 billion.
The new channel – working title Viceland – will be launched early next year with prime-time shows including Gaycation, with Ellen Page and Ian Daniel, Huang’s World, Noisey, and Weediquette, the companies said in a statement.
Started in 1994 as a Montreal punk magazine, Vice has grown into a global multimedia brand with print, television and online content as well as a record label and book publishing. Vice, which won an Emmy award last year, has carved a niche for itself at a time when TV networks have struggled with bringing news to many young consumers who access their news through digital and social media channels.
