Canadian network drops VICELAND
Cable channel is dropped following low viewership and unprofitability.
- Published by David Knox
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Canadian cable channel VICELAND will shut down at the end of March with content to be available online only through VICE Media.
Canada’s Rogers Communications has terminated a $100 million joint venture with New York City-based VICE Media.
The move follow reports of low viewership and unprofitability for the channel.
“In this crowded content universe and as audience habits change, we continue to evolve our strategy to deliver unique content to Canadians,” Rogers Communications said in a statement.
VICE Canada has now acquired full control of studio in Toronto and a VICELAND Canada content library comprising around 130 hours of original programming.
“VICE will continue to grow in Canada in 2018. We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us and will be announcing some new exciting partnerships soon,” Ryan Archibald, president of VICE Canada, said in a statement.
The move is not expected to directly impact VICELAND with SBS.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
10 Responses
Maybe a name change to Heartland might save it!
It’s mostly niche programming and there should be a place for that in free to air TV and not have everything driven by mass market ratings.
Viceland ratings when compared to its main channel SBS are about the same prorata as say 7TWO to Seven, 9GO! to Nine – sometimes more.
One would need to analyse the actual individual programs as SBS 2 shows movies, other programs and repeats thereof that aren’t Viceland product at all.
SBS should drop it and change the channel to SBS Fit showing exercise routines, strongman, muscle shows, calisthenicsand weightlifting. Working out with weights is the number one sport/pastime with young and older men in Australia so why is it being completely ignored by the media?
Won’t those guys be out getting fit rather than watching telly? 😉
Quick, tell CBS to rebrand channel ONE back!
I don’t blame them for dropping it. SBS should do the same. It has done nothing for the channel.
I agree. Its not very good at all.
Doesn’t surprise me, I’ve only watched one program on SBS Viceland since its launch, and that was only the other month’s “The Truth About Facebook”, and it was actually quite a disappointing show which was very UK skewed, with little content and discussion.
If it can’t be viable in Canada, a bigger market than Australia, then this can’t be a good sign for SBS