Bell Media signs new long-term broadcast agreement with Vice Media

By The Canadian Press

Bell Media has signed a new long-term agreement that will see it become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster for new programming from Vice Media’s U.S. network Viceland.

The shows will debut on multiple Bell Media platforms, including CraveTV, in the fall, the companies said.

They say new Vice shows will exclusively air on television on Bell Media channels, while it has also acquired the rights to more than 650 hours of Vice library programming.

The companies declined to provide further details on the deal including financial terms or the length of the agreement.

The deal follows the end of a three-year partnership between Rogers Media Inc. and Vice in March that saw the two produce original content through Vice Studio Canada.

Rogers said it had alone invested $100 million through the joint venture on the creation of over 130 hours of original Canadian programming, a dedicated studio, and the TV channel before announcing an end to the deal in January as it realigned its content strategy.

The partnership ended without either party disclosing specific viewership numbers for the channel.

Bell Media and Vice said they will also explore co-production opportunities.

The two companies signed a deal last September to have Vice’s new program Vice News Tonight air on Bell’s Much station.

The latest deal comes as competition remains high with online competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime investing heavily in original programming.

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