Vice Said Seeking to Buy U.S. Cable Network by Year-End
- Talks with potential targets said to have narrowed to two
- Company has stockpiled shows in hopes of finding TV home
Shane Smith, co-founder and chief executive officer of Vice Media Inc., left, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2014 conference in New York.
Photographer: Peter Foley/BloombergVice Media Inc. is in talks to take over a U.S. cable network and has narrowed the potential targets to two, with a goal of reaching a deal by year-end, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company, which amassed a large online following with news coverage ranging from Islamic extremism to dance music, has spent months creating new series as it prepares for a bigger push in TV. Rather than sell the shows to other networks, as it has with HBO, Vice would rather air them on its own channel, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The cost of buying a network and the risk of getting dropped by pay-TV providers remain obstacles to a deal, the person said.