Following Verizon's successful acquisition of AOL, Big Red has inked another major deal with a media company to help it move forward its plans to launch a new mobile video service later this year.
Verizon has announced that it has sealed a multi-year deal with Vice Media to provide original programming for Verizon's upcoming video platform. The partnership will include Vice's digital channels ranging from tech, travel and food as well as an exclusive "Autobiographies" series that will look into the lives of some of societies most famous personalities.
"The media landscape is experiencing a seismic shift in storytelling, audience, immediacy and platforms," Terry Denson, Verizon vice president of content strategy and acquisition, said in a statement. "Vice is connecting with an entire generation in a way that no one else is and Verizon will connect consumers to Vice in a way that no one else does by combining Vice's storytelling with the most compelling mobile video platform."
The new deal highlights Verizon's desire to go after one of the most elusive but lucrative demographics, young males. Having started as a punk rock print publication in the 1980s before expanding to other types of content later on, Vice makes the perfect partner with its largely young, male market.
Alongside the content from Vice, Verizon will also be hosting videos from the National Football League (NFL) and DreamWorks Animation's AwesomenessTV, which is also popular with the younger set.
As for Vice, the partnership with Verizon looks to be a lucrative deal for the content provider, which has also been active in striking deals with other carriers and networks to push its content to a wider audience. Most prominently, Vice shook hands with Spotify on a deal that would let the music streaming service take a foray into video streaming using content from Vice.
Verizon, on the other hand, is the latest traditional service providers to realize that it has to do something to appeal to mobile video viewers, a segment of the market that is steadily growing, according to research conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Earlier this week, Comcast announced Stream, a mobile video service that allows users to watch streaming broadcast networks and HBO for $15 a month.
Verizon announced its new Internet TV service for mobile for later this year, but it has been experimenting with other Internet TV options, notably Custom TV bundles to allow customers to choose the channels they want, since April.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
