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Globo boosts Vice presence in Brazil

US youth-skewing media firm Vice is set to ramp up its Brazilian production activities after receiving investment from local pay TV giant Globosat.

Alberto Pecegueiro

The broadcaster has taken a minority stake in Vice Brazil and will introduce Viceland-branded programming blocks on its channels by the end of the year.

Globosat will also carry Vice content across its online and mobile platforms.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Vice said that despite the minority stake being “significant,” it retains full editorial control of the content and will ramp up its local production activities in Brazil.

Brazil represents a “key growth opportunity” for Vice because of its enormous and rapidly growing youth population.

The expansion in Brazil comes as Vice targets growth in more than 80 territories by the first quarter of 2018. Earlier this week it revealed it has raised US$450m in private equity funding and plans to launch a global scripted studio and an OTT service.

“Vice Brazil has done innovative work in the communication industry by developing content users identify with as reflecting their causes and interests,” said Alberto Pecegueiro, CEO of Globosat.

“With the country’s massive youth population and growing appetite for award-winning programming on every screen, this partnership with Globosat presents the ideal opportunity to develop even more amazing local content and stories, and transport them around world to audiences everywhere,” said James Schwab, co-president of Vice Media.

Vice Brazil launched in 2009, beginning as a print magazine before moving into video focusing on subjects including music, technology, sports and culture.

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