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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 2, 2015 1:01:03 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/digital/news/newfronts-2015-vice-deal-with-hbo-is-biggest-in-cablers-history-shane-smith-says-1201485864/Vice Media CEO Shane Smith boasted that his company’s multiyear deal with Time Warner’s HBO — which covers a weekday new show for the next four years — is the biggest ever in the premium cabler’s history in terms of content. The Vice topper spoke at its 2015 Digital Content NewFronts presentation Friday. Smith, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, opened the presentation with a hypothetical question: “Why the f— are we here?” His answer: “We went to the gold standard,” meaning HBO. About the four-year HBO deal extension, announced last month, Smith said that Vice has the freedom to do whatever it wants to do, without any advertising. “That changed our lives,” he said. “It was fantastically transformative.” Not mentioned at the Vice presentation was that A+E Network’s H2 network will soon be converting into a linear channel for Vice. A+E is a joint venture of Disney and Hearst; A+E holds a 10% stake in Vice after investing $250 million in the company. At the event, Vice said it had developed 20 new shows it expects to debut in the following months, but it didn’t provide details on when those would arrive. The Vice Media presentation Friday started at about 4:30 p.m., about 90 minutes after the scheduled start time. It was held at the Center 548 space in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
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