Rogers drops joint venture with Vice Canada

Telecom giant pulls plug on TV channel, shifts focus to new content initiatives

Rogers Media Inc. abandoned its stake in a joint venture with Vice Canada, ending its three-year relationship with the edgy media company to redirect money to content that “better aligns” with its brand.

The Toronto-based communications giant announced Monday that it terminated a $100-million joint venture with Vice that included a production studio called Vice Studio Canada and moneylosing television channel Viceland.

Viceland, which lost $2.5 million in the year ended Aug. 31, 2016, according to the broadcast regulator, will stop broadcasting on March 31. Rogers transferred its interest in the production studio to Vice Canada.

“We plan to redirect our Canadian content funding to other Canadian content initiatives that better align with our portfolio and brands,” Rogers said in a statement.

The move comes as no surprise, as Rogers’ three-year deal with Vice expired in October. Rogers’s wireless brand Fido subsequently dropped its Daily Vice promotions, but at the time a Rogers spokeswoman said “we don’t comment on rumours or speculation” when asked if the partnership was winding down.

The deal — the brainchild of former Rogers CEO Guy Laurence and Vice co-founder Shane Smith — was pitched as a way to attract young people to Rogers’s services with exclusive content.

Laurence was subsequently fired over style conflicts with the Rogers family. Still, Rogers said Monday that content ownership remains a core part of its strategy.

“In this crowded content universe and as audience habits change, we continue to evolve our strategy to deliver unique content to Canadians,” it said. “We will be actively exploring new content opportunities that appeal to a broad audience.”

Rogers did not reveal further details about future content investments.

Vice confirmed there will be job losses as a result of its breakup with Rogers, but a spokesperson would not say how many. Vice will be working with its union on staffing changes and is committed to rehiring anyone affected as they ramp up production, the spokesperson said.

As it stands, about 200 people work at Vice Canada in editorial, production, marketing and other roles.

Despite the imminent end to Viceland’s broadcast, Vice Canada president Ryan Archibald was bullish on Vice’s growth prospects in the Canadian market.

“Vice will continue to grow in Canada in 2018. We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us and will be announcing some new exciting partnerships soon,” Archibald said in a statement.

“Keeping Viceland alive as a showcase of the content and people that shape our culture is a priority for us,” he said.

Vice Canada noted it has acquired full ownership over the Viceland content library. It thanked Rogers for the partnership and the initial investment that helped establish the studio.

Keeping Viceland alive as a showcase of the content and people that shape our culture is a priority for us.