FremantleMedia cooks with Vice

FremantleMedia and youth-oriented multimedia company Vice Media have formed a new joint venture to create an online portal focused on food programming.

Vice will work with Fremantle’s production teams around the world to produce content that will initially appear on a yet-to-be-named online channel, with shows then sold to international networks by Fremantle’s distribution arm.

The new site is described as a “multi-channel food platform for a millennial audience” and will offer hundreds of hours of content that have been developed and produced by the two firms, in addition to recipes and food-focused articles. Subjects will range from the politics of food to world travel and home cooking.

Content will be made available on platforms including Vice.com and the company’s other themed verticals such as Noisey, Motherboard, The Creators Project, i-D, Thump and Fightland, as well as its forthcoming news channel. The companies also plan to create “experiential activities” such as festivals and tasting events, as well as mobile apps and licensed merchandise.

Vice has previously produced food-focused Fresh off the Boat, which followed chef Eddie Huang and aired on the firm’s online channels, while the new venture is the latest move by FremantleMedia to expand its online operations.

The firm launched its digital and branded entertainment division last year in a bid to extend its role as a TV producer and distributor onto emerging digital platforms.

Vice Media president Andrew Creighton added: “Today’s youth are the driving force behind the food culture explosion, yet they remain totally under served when it comes to original food programming. Partnering with the best in class, FremantleMedia, the new Vice food channel will upend the culinary media landscape.”

FremantleMedia has already invested in multichannel network Divimove and has also signed a coproduction deal with multichannel network StyleHaul, which parent RTL also invested in.

Vice is known in the television industry for its self-titled news programme on HBO. Last summer, 21st Century Fox bought a 5% stake in the company for US$70m and it is also expanding internationally, most recently linking up with Greece-based TV broadcaster Antenna Group to increase its reach across south east Europe.

Vice will use that partnership to develop and produce new content covering news, fashion, sports and cultural topics aimed at 18-32 year-olds.