broadcastnow.co.uk 23 August 2019 | Broadcast | 17
Gabai: sees potential for gameshowsBY JOHN ELMES
Vice Media sees the free-to-air
television market as a stronger
growth opportunity than the
“important but limited business”
of SVoD, according to the youth-
skewing firm’s chief revenue officer.
In an exclusive interview with
Broadcast, Dominique Delport said
it is “super-important” for Vice to
“stay in the ad-funded business”,
adding that while many people are
prepared to pay for content services,
free TV offers a much bigger overall
opportunity due to its reach.
“We know of the great opportu-
nities of Netflix, Amazon and
Hulu, but sometimes they are
constrained when it comes to IP
ownership,” he added.
“You can go deeper when you
partner with a broadcaster, as it’s a
longer partnership. We are all over
the world with these broadcasters
and pay-TV platforms.”
The exec added that Vice’s history
as a youth-skewing brand means it
has a duty to provide stories and
content for younger demographics
who might not be able to afford
multiple SVoD subscriptions but still
want to access non-linear content.
He cited Vice’s licensing part-
nership with Channel 4’s AVoD
service All 4 as a way that broad-
casters can offer a free binge-
watching experience. “Ad-funded
is a great model because it’s very
democratic,” he added.“Free-to-air TV gives access to
knowledge, education, informa-
tion and entertainment to masses
who can’t afford to pay for their
content. We still believe our duty
is to be as available as possible to
younger audiences.”
Delport, a former Canal+ and
M6 programming chief, described
the global free-TV industry as a
“$600bn [£494bn] business”
that remains strong and with
a unique place in the market,
offering access to audiences
other platforms cannot.Vice Studios to target longer-run series
His comments come as Vice
dives into chief executive Nancy
Dubuc’s five-pronged strategy to
wrestle itself into a stronger finan-
cial position after several years of
underperformance. Earlier this
year, Dubuc laid off a reported 10%
of staff following lower-than-
expected revenues.
One of the “engines for growth”
is production wing Vice Studios,
and Delport emphasised the
division’s ability to produce for
both sister channel Viceland and
third-party broadcasters.
In the UK, Vice Studios has
landed commissions including
BBC2 documentaries The Satanic
Verses: 30 Years On and The Brexit
Storm: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside
Story, Dave gameshow Beat The
Internet and Channel 5’s Drug Wars
and Britain’s Cocaine Epidemic. In
the US, it co-produced Netflix’s
acclaimed doc Fyre: The Greatest
Party That Never Happened.
“There is clearly a market
need for Vice-type content and
the Viceland linear channel
around the world,” said Delport,
adding that the business is
experiencing “great momentum
on premium production”.BY JOHN ELMES
Vice Studios will shift focus from
one-off programmes and films to
longer-run scripted and unscripted
series, according to its US chief
Danny Gabai.
Since launching in 2017, the
production outfit has focused on
the feature-length documentary
and scripted space, through
productions such as Netflix’s
Fyre: The Greatest Party That
Never Happened, horror film
Climax, cannibal-themed comedy
thriller The Bad Batch and forth-
coming political thriller The
Report, but Gabai is planning
a gear shift.
“When we were growing the
studios initially, we were putting
a lot of our focus on one-off docu-
mentaries, limited docu-series and
docu-specials and scripted feature
films,” said the head of Vice
Studios US. “Where I see theopportunities, especially with the
development of all these new
streaming services, is in smart
non-scripted series.”
Gabai said the other area of
expansion is scripted, following a
period of intense development
over the past year. “We’ve got a
couple set up with premium cable
networks, and we’re hopeful to see
one of these greenlit.”
Gabai, who is also executive
vice-president at parent company
Vice Media, said the firm is in
active development conversations
about potential gameshows, fol-
lowing Vice Studios UK’s recent
venture into the unscripted genre
with Beat The Internet for Dave.He said that it was the British
production arm’s “left-of-centre”
idea that helped initiate idea-sharing
between Vice Studios’ various
international hubs, and he hopes
to collaborate with his colleagues
in the UK, with whom he already
holds joint development meetings.
“We’re 1,000% looking to do
more gameshows,” he said. “I
constantly ask how we are going to
do a version of Beat The Internet in
the US or what the US equivalent
is. Before that show, none of our
teams would ever have thought
of coming up with a gameshow.
It opened up the floodgates for
us in terms of what the possi-
bilities are.”Vice eyes free-to-air potential
Sometimes the likes of
Netflix, Amazon and Hulu
are constrained when it
comes to IP ownership
DOMINIQUE DELPORT
VICE MEDIAReach of traditional broadcasters seen as offering better opportunity for growth than streamers
Fyre – The Greatest Party
That Never Happened: Vice
co-produced Netflix doc[email protected]
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