Vice Media said it launched Vice Sports and plans to expand the amount of sports programming on Vice TV, its cable network joint venture with A+E.
The company said Vice TV will produce and air seven original sports series early next year as part of new primetime Vice Sports programming blocks. Vice said it will produce more than 50 hours of sports documentaries, programs, events and podcasts that will be distributed globally via television and digital platforms.
“Vice’s brand and history have always been about producing authentic, differentiated, and compelling content – from our hit-series Gangs of London to HBO’s Vice,” said Bruce Dixon, CEO of Vice Media, said in a statement. “Given the demand for sports content around the world is greater than ever before, we are well-positioned to offer an alternative to the mainstream, airing not only on our own Vice TV network, but across other media platforms.”
New programming will include original series on controversial college basketball coaches Rick Pitino of St. John’s and John Calipari of Arkansas with Pitino: Red Storm Rising and Calipari: Razor’s Edge.
Those shows are scheduled to debut in February and are produced with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. “We’re excited to work with Vice TV on Calipari: Razor’s Edge, a show that will give fans an inside look at Coach John Calipari’s first season running the Arkansas men’s basketball program,” said Peyton Manning, founder of Omaha Productions. “Coach Cal is a Hall of Fame coach and a legend in the sport. We expect this series to be the first of many future collaborations between Omaha and Vice as the company expands into more sports content.”
In addition, the cable channel will air The Verdict and four original series from Vice Studios: Dark Side of the Cage, The Grudge, Sports Gone Wrong, and the highly anticipated sixth season of Dark Side of the Ring.
“We are open for business to partner with great talent to produce breakthrough sports content as we leverage our brand and history. I have never been more excited about where we’re headed across not only sports, but scripted and non-scripted content in music, news and other genres,” said Danny Gabai, co-president of Vice Studios.
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