Verizon to offer Vice Media content on its upcoming video service
By Malathi Nayak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications said on Tuesday it will add content from Vice Media, known for its current affairs coverage for young people, to the lineup of the online video service the biggest U.S. wireless provider will launch later this year.
Through a multi-year deal, Vice Media will provide exclusive content for Verizon's video service as well as original Vice-branded content across categories such as culture, food, technology and travel, the companies said in a statement.
Content from New York-based Vice Media, which counts Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox as one of its investors, will include "Autobiographies," a series of interviews of well-known personalities. Financial details were not disclosed.
Verizon has said its upcoming digital video service will offer content from the National Football League and DreamWorks Animation's AwesomenessTV unit. In June, Verizon acquired AOL Inc., making a $4.4 billion bet that a push into mobile video and targeted advertising can help it find new growth avenues.
Most Americans own a mobile phone and Verizon is looking at digital video delivery to increase data consumption on mobile devices and increase revenue. The digital video service, which it expects to release in mid-2015, is aimed at families and younger viewers who increasingly consume content on mobile devices.
Vice Media, whose edgy reportage has become popular with young people, won an Emmy award last year for outstanding informational series or special for its HBO series VICE. It also secured a $500 million investment from Silicon Valley's Technology Crossover Ventures and A&E Networks.
(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)
