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Foxtel: We rejected Vice channel idea

"We didn't think it was something that would attract subscribers," Foxtel says after an approach to have its own Vice channel.

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Foxtel considered adding Viceland as a channel after an approach from the Canadian media organisation but decided against it.

Speaking today at the Australian International Documentary Conference in Melbourne, Foxtel’s Brian Walsh told delegates, “We were presented 12 months ago with the opportunity of putting Vice as a channel brand and destination for Foxtel, which my colleagues at SBS have subsequently taken on.

“For us it was a consideration as to whether we saw it as a relevant part of our portfolio. We determined it wasn’t right for us. We didn’t think it was something that would attract subscribers, so we let that one go.

“I won’t comment on its validity now sitting on the Australian television landscape.”

SBS VICELAND launched late last year, replacing SBS 2 with some headlines questioning its inclusion, following the SBS Food Network deal with US-owned Scripps Network.

It is yet to improve the network share previously attained by SBS 2.

17 Responses

  2. I wished Foxtel would have picked it up.

    Purely so that maybe SBS2 could have been spared this nonsense, they ruined the channel as far as I am concerned.

  3. I have to say that VICELAND aims for a certain demographic.

    As tp0 mentioned Comedy Channel, they need to grow up – rid the joker and turn into a Comedy Central.

    Real shame Comedy Central hasn’t come to Foxtel but available on Fetch. CC showcases globally and would fit in Aus.. like NZ and Europe. More American!

    1. Unfortunately Australians are turning off US content more so as each year passes. I think Foxtel will see the ratings drop and SBS getting skewered for taking on high quality, established US brands and continue to move away from taking on US cable channels.

      2. Binge watching popular shows has changed the viewing habits of those looking for instant gratification. FTA are taking hesitant steps catering for this steaming audience but cannot ignore their need to create revenue which is a negative distraction for most viewers of overseas entertainment. Netflix’s lack of advertising is a challenge to advertising agencies everywhere because if Netflix can be ad free and also invest billions to make their own shows so can other streaming services too.

  4. “We rejected Viceland because the religious channel SonLife was going to provide is with more money”

    How about you just tell the truth Fox?

  5. As a 22 year old who both pays for Foxtel and enjoys Vice content I would have loved to see a VICELAND channel on Foxtel as it would be in HD and present a wider range of Vice content 24×7 but I’m probably in the minority here.

    It wouldn’t be a great fit for Foxtel. Even The Comedy Channel which would be one of their youngest skewing entertainment channel still airs a lot of cliched junk for the oldies.

  6. It’s funny that the default assumption is that its “young people” doing all the piracy, when all the studies seem to show the largest number of pirates are people in their mid 20’s – late 30’s. That also happens to be the largest age cohort in the population (average age in Aus is ~37).

    18-mid 20’s seem to favour youtube, catch-up, & other streaming services. 24-39 seem to be the biggest pirates, with a fair tail into the 50+ group. It drops off rapidly in the 64+ group.

    In general piracy rates seems to track population demographics & disposable income – the biggest age group with the biggest average income are the biggest proportion of pirates. Someone aged 35 with income >60k is much more likely to be a pirate than a 22 year old earning 40k…

  7. When a pay television channel targets young people they should know that the young people target audience will just pirate whatever is on that channel or wait for the show to appear on Netflix.

  12. >> We didn’t think it was something that would attract subscribers, so we let that one go.

    In plain English, young people won’t pay for content – and certainly not content they can get elsewhere for free.

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