By A Correspondent
Youth media brand Vice Media officially announced the launch of its operations in India last week with a partnership with The Times of India group. Vice India will bring locally relevant content in Hindi and English.
According to a communique, Vice will produce and distribute local programming for digital, mobile and linear platforms. Vice India has introduced all of its digital brands under the Vice.com banner, premiering a late night primetime television block across The Times of India portfolio.
New offices in Mumbai and Delhi will host full-scale Vice operations, including a local offering of Virtue Worldwide, Vice’s in-house creative agency, and a full-service content production studio, Vice Studio, producing local news, culture, documentary, film and scripted content for television, SVOD, OTT and digital platforms.
Last month, Vice India announced the appointment of Chanpreet Arora as Chief Executive Officer and Samira Kanwar as Head of Content. Speaking about the launch, Arora said: “We are humbled by the response we have received on our content as we launch and are excited to partner with people, brands and organisations who are on a mission to connect with India’s youth and impact their future positively.â€
Beyond Vice’s main partnership with The Times of India group, there is an additional partnershipwith Facebook and multiple platform partnerships on the anvil. Added Saurabh Doshi, Head – Entertainment Partnerships, Asia-Pacific at Facebook: “A large number of people on Facebook in India are young. We are happy to see Vice Media launch in India and excited about the opportunity that people will get to see content that will be relevant, high quality and something which will encourage meaningful conversations.â€
Meanwhile, Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency of Vice, has entered into major brand partnerships that will provide creative services in India. Launch partnerships in the region include Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) and Anheuser-Busch InBev.