Vice and ITV Join Forces in Distribution Deal as Freddie Flintoff Makes TV Return With ‘Bullseye’
Vice Studios, the studio arm of the Vice Media portfolio business, has selected ITV Studios as its exclusive global distribution partner.
The deal, confirmed during a session at the London TV Screenings on Wednesday, will see ITV Studios add nearly 2,000 hours of VICE content to its catalog, as well as represent future projects in the VICE Studios’ pipeline.
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It means ITV Studios adds a large catalog of popular scripted and non-scripted content, including docu-style investigative shows, to its portfolio alongside established drama, natural history and true crime television.
VICE content includes the Dark Side of the Ring franchise, United Gangs of America and Vice on HBO. The partnership will also spotlight future VICE Studios-produced content, including new scripted series from VICE’s U.K. production hub — producer of Sky’s popular Gangs of London series. ITV Studios’ recently launched label Zoo 55 will exploit VICE’s catalog and brands in the digital space and FAST channels across social media, as well as connected TV platforms, the companies added.
Previously announced shows from ITV this year include the Andrew Lincoln-starring Cold Water, The Guest with Eve Myles and David Tennant series The Hack, a new drama on the U.K.’s infamous phone-hacking scandal. On Wednesday, the team also unveiled more formats, such as Twin Love, where sets of identical twins are separated and placed in two identical houses in a bid to find love, and Date My Nan, where grandmothers are given a “transformational glow-up” and sent on a blind date.
Darts-themed game show Bullseye has been commissioned for a full season to air later this year as host Freddie Flintoff, formerly a cricketer whose near-fatal Top Gear car crash took him off our screens for years, makes his permanent TV return.
Elsewhere, a program called Greenhouse will feature eight young eco-offenders challenged to spend a week at an off-grid retreat competing for a cash prize and Celebrity Sabotage, from the creators of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, where contestants believe they are competing in a reality game show but hidden away in a secret headquarters is a Celebrity Saboteur.
Jamie Hall, co-President of VICE Studios, said: “We have been looking for a distribution partner that matches our creative ambition to work with us across our diverse and dynamic slate. With their flexible, creative deal-making, digital-first thinking and scale, the exceptional team at ITV Studios led by Ruth Berry, will ensure our programs gain greater global exposure.”
Ruth Berry, President Global Partnerships and Zoo 55, said, “Adding VICE’s unique catalog to our distribution portfolio and managing their brands in digital exploitation and FAST channels represents an exciting and rare opportunity to strengthen both our content pipeline and digital footprint. I am hugely excited about the opportunities for both parties and am looking forward to working closely with the VICE Studios’ team.”
Deal negotiations were led by Joe Patrick for VICE Media and Julie Meldal-Johnsen and Graham Haigh at ITV.
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