VICE Media will launch in India on Friday, TheWrap has learned.
VICE India will be a joint project between Vice Media and the Times of India Group. The rough blueprint calls for combining Vice’s youth-focused approach to news with culturally relevant content and local news.
The VICE India project had been in the works for several months. The company previously announced that Chanpreet Arora would serve as CEO of the effort with Samira Kanwar taking on the role of head of content.
The operation will be based out of offices in Mumbai and Delhi.
“Everything we do, our aim is to reach the aspirational mass audience which is about to make their voices heard loudly in India,” Hosi Simon, CEO of VICE Asia Pacific, said in press release after this article was published.
“We hope to create ground-breaking content and play a significant role in creating and giving a voice to the youth of India, and helping to bring their stories and creativity to all parts of India, and to the rest of the world.”
News of the launch provides a bit of much needed triumphalism for a company that has been buffeted by bad news all year. Like many high profile media organizations, Vice has seen it’s executive ranks rocked by the MeToo movement.
A much-anticipated New York Times article last December exposed multiple accusations of sexual misconduct from past employees, including at least four settlements. Among the accused was company president Andrew Creighton who dropped $135,000 in hush money to a former employee who said she was fired from the company after turning him down, the Times reported.
The revelations led to the ouster of the company’s chief creative officer, Mike Germano and what has become a semi-permanent suspension for Creighton.
The company also missed a 2017 revenue target by $100 million, imperiling what had been a planned 2018 IPO.
Last month, Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith announced he would step down from his role as the company’s longtime CEO and hand over the reins to former A&E chief Nancy Dubuc.
“Why Nancy Dubuc? Simply put, because rarely in business do you get to work in a perfect partnership,” said Smith in a press release at the time. “We are a modern day Bonnie and Clyde and we are going to take all your money.”