Latest news with #ViceMedia
Axios
5 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Vice Media raises $75M credit facility
Vice Media has raised $75 million in the form of a credit facility with Western Alliance Bank to support the growth of Vice Studios, its scripted and unscripted production arm, Vice Media executive chairman Michael Lang told Axios. Why it matters: Lang hopes the investment will supercharge Vice Studio's production output, while giving the company more distribution control over its content projects. Before Vice Media emerged from a bankruptcy buyout in 2023, it mostly relied on its third-party distribution partners — such as streamers and TV networks — to fund its content slate, limiting its distribution power, Lang said. Zoom out: Lang, who is also president of a separate media investment company called Lang Media Group, hopes the new money will help Vice Studios jumpstart $500 million worth of content projects over the next three to five years. Some of that capital will come from the new cash raised, and the rest will come from third-party distribution partners that collaborate on projects Vice can now help fund. Between the lines: In addition to the credit facility, Vice co-owner Fortress Investment Group is contributing an equity investment to help fund the broader Vice Studios production slate. A spokesperson declined to disclose how much Fortress contributed. Lang said the commitment from Fortress speaks to the investment firm's belief in Vice Media's new strategy. State of play: With its own capital, Lang also hopes to be able to produce more content related to the intellectual property Vice Studios already owns. Vice Studios' popular series include the U.K. hit "Gangs of London," as well as the streaming and cable documentary feature "Bama Rush." Catch up quick: Lang was named interim executive chairman of Vice Media in 2023 after an investment group led by Fortress bought the company out of bankruptcy. A few months later, it unveiled a new creative structure for Vice Studios. Vice hired Adam Stotsky, a former NBCUniversal executive, as its new CEO in June. It added Amy Powell, an Amazon veteran, in May. In the past few months, the company has been on a deal spree. It struck a significant distribution deal with ITV Studios in February. It acquired Cuba Pictures — known for producing dramas in the U.K. — from United Talent Agency's Curtis Brown in May. It purchased London Alley Entertainment to bolster its commercial production division in March. What to watch: Leading up to and following its bankruptcy, Vice Media sold or spun out several assets and consolidated departments to streamline its focus on content production and marketing services. Lang hopes the two sides can build synergies.
The Verge
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Posted Jun 16, 2025 at 6:30 PM EDT
The 'fucking clown show' has a new ringmaster. Out at Vice Media: former CEO Bruce Dixon. In: new CEO Adam Stotsky, 'A lot of the sort of messy stuff has been cleaned up,' Stotsky told The Wall Street Journa l. We'll see about that — when I wrote about Vice last year, there was still plenty of mess under Dixon.
Wall Street Journal
16-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Vice Media Hires Former NBCUniversal Executive for Studio-Focused Turnaround
A longtime NBCUniversal marketing executive is taking over as chief executive of Vice Media, aiming to build up the company's studio and advertising arms after a tumultuous few years. Vice, the edgy media company founded in 1994 and known for countercultural stories and documentaries, will continue to focus on 'provocative storytelling,' incoming CEO Adam Stotsky said. He also wants 'storytelling that can build a long-term, profitable and sustainable media brand in today's landscape.' That means more franchises along the lines of its British crime drama 'Gangs of London' and 'Bama Rush,' a documentary on the sorority rite of passage. Fortress Investment Group and other lenders acquired the embattled digital publisher after it filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and pursued a series of cost-cutting efforts. Vice has since refocused its business, shedding assets including Refinery29 and i-D magazine and laying off staff. 'A lot of the sort of messy stuff has been cleaned up,' said Stotsky, who spent nearly two decades at NBCUniversal, including as president of E! Entertainment and Esquire Network. He also recently worked with private equity-backed entertainment companies including Religion of Sports, a sports media venture founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra, and Dick Clark Productions, which is now owned by Penske Media. Bruce Dixon, who had been Vice's CEO, is leaving the company. Vice's business has several arms: Vice Studios, a scripted and unscripted television production studio; Vice Sports; cable network Vice TV in partnership with A+E; and its advertising operation, which includes Vice Commercials and ad agency Virtue. 'It's going to be really tough for us to compete against Instagram, TikTok and YouTube,' for ad revenue said Michael Lang, Vice's executive chairman and president of Lang Media Group. 'So we're going to create great content for digital platforms, but we're not going to be in the digital platform business itself.' Lang said Vice is now profitable, and in the next three years he expects Vice's studio business to be a major driver of the company's revenue. Amy Powell, a former executive at Amazon and Paramount Television, was recently named president of Vice Studios. He said Vice is expanding its Virtue ad agency's presence in Europe, and he is looking to do more with podcasters in the news space, citing the 'Shane Smith Has Questions' video podcast as an example. Smith is the co-founder of Vice and editor in chief of Vice News. Vice has also partnered with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions on series including 'Calipari: Razor's Edge' about basketball coach John Calipari's first season at the University of Arkansas, and the forthcoming 'NFL Playback,' which looks back at classic games with commentary from celebrities and players, including Manning. Write to Isabella Simonetti at
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Charlotte Meredith obituary
My daughter, Charlotte Meredith, who has taken her own life aged 36, was a British journalist who had worked for the past few years in Australia, latterly as deputy social media editor for Daily Mail Australia. She began her career as a news reporter at the Huffington Post in London in 2013-14. Following a first-class degree in English and an MA in journalism, both from Kingston University in Surrey, she had undertaken a series of internships including at our local paper in Buckinghamshire and at the Daily Express in April 2012. After HuffPost, Charlotte had a stint at the Independent in 2015 and then moved to Vice Media as a digital editor at Vice News, also working on the launch of the company's TV channel, Viceland UK, in 2016. Later that year the opportunity arose for her to work in a similar role for Vice in Melbourne, Australia. 'It's only for three months, Mum,' she told me. So I took her pug, Cloudy, and off she went – not knowing anyone – to the other side of the world, demonstrating her characteristic independence and sense of adventure. Charlotte thrived, and loved Australia – the wildlife, the bush, the beaches, the people and the food. She met her partner, Andrew Davis, and they lived together in Sydney with their three rescue cats, enjoying catching the ferry to Camp Cove for fish and chips at Watsons Bay and trips outside the city to the Blue Mountains. The three months turned into for ever. She remained with Vice for three years, until in 2019 she became digital head of news at the Special Broadcasting Service in Sydney, before joining Daily Mail Australia in 2021. She was conscientious and hard-working, and popular with the small team she worked with. Charlotte was born in Torquay, Devon, to me (I am now a retired lecturer) and Michael Mason, a GP. When she was five, we moved to Buckinghamshire, and after primary school she attended Sir William Borlase's grammar school in Marlow, before going to study at Kingston University. After moving to Australia, she came home every year, except during the Covid restrictions, the last time in September, when she enjoyed British pub food and visiting her favourite haunts. More recently it was clear that her mental health was deteriorating but she successfully hid how dreadful she really felt. Charlotte was a caring, compassionate, thoughtful, vibrant and opinionated person, and I am immensely proud of her successes and achievements. I am also certain that she had the potential to achieve so much more had she lived. Michael died in 2010. Charlotte is survived by Andrew and me, and by two half-siblings.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UTA's Curtis Brown Sells Cuba Pictures to Vice Media
Vice Media has picked up McMafia producer Cuba Pictures from UTA's Curtis Brown Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the U.K. film and TV producer will become part of Vice Studios to bolster its scripted TV business. Cuba Pictures will continue to be led by head of film and TV Dixie Linder, who will report to Vice Studios co-president Jamie Hall. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Love Hurts,' 'Violent Night' Producer Guy Danella Named President of Film at XYZ Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong Join Juliette Binoche on Cannes Jury BBC Review Finds No "Toxic Culture" But "Minority of People Whose Behavior Is Simply Not Acceptable" 'We are impressed by the innovative shows that Cuba Pictures produces with global appeal, and this acquisition accelerates our studios' growth strategy in scripted content,' Bruce Dixon, CEO of Vice Media, said in a statement. Dixie Linder added: 'I couldn't be more excited for the next chapter for Cuba alongside Jamie and the brilliant team at Vice Studios. Their passion and vision make them the perfect partners for this journey, and I can't wait to see what we create together — while continuing our very special relationship with Curtis Brown.' Cuba Pictures founder Nick Marston will remain active with the company, according to the company, and work closely with the Vice Studios team. The acquisition of Cuba Pictures follows Vice Media inking a distribution deal with ITV Studios and acquiring commercial and music video production studio London Alley Entertainment and merging it with UK's Pulse Films. Vice Studios produces the TV franchise Gangs of London, Sky's Atomic series and the upcoming film Bad Apples with Paramount, starring Saoirse Ronan. The acquisition of Cuba Pictures follows Vice Media inking a distribution deal with ITV Studios and acquiring commercial and music video production studio London Alley Entertainment and merging it with Pulse Films. TV credits for Cuba Pictures include Channel Four's Coalition, BBC One's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, the BBC Two and RTÉ thriller Paula, and the BBC1 and Amazon Prime series McMafia, starring James Norton. Cuba Pictures is at work on the drama The Walsh Sisters, an adaptation of Marian Keyes' novels and set to air on the BBC and RTE. Vice Media is owned by Fortress Investment Group, Soros Capital Management and Monroe Capital. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
