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Vice Media Group

Type:

News Media Organization
Formation:

1994
CEO:

Adam Stotsky

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Vice Media Group is a left-leaning for-profit media organization based in New York City. The organization operates numerous brands both online and in the broadcast media. The company has faced problems with profitability and labor issues among its international brands. 1

History

Vice was founded as a free magazine in 1994 by Shane Smith, Suroosh Alvi, and Gavin McInnes in Montreal, Canada. In 1999, Vice moved its headquarters to New York City, and launched its first website. 2

In 2006, Vice’s first TV program, “The Vice Guide to Travel,” was created and premiered on MTV2, along with the group’s creative agency Virtue also created in 2006. 3

In 2008, Smith and Alvi bought out McInnes’s stake. They believed his humor was too edgy for the brand, among other issues;4 McInnes would later become involved in right-wing politics and the “Proud Boys” radical movement. 5

In 2013, Vice News was created with the goal of targeting young people. In 2016, Vice’s TV channel, Viceland, was launched. 6

In 2017, Vice Studios was launched. 7

Background

Launched in 1994, Vice Media covers several brands and media projects. These include Vice News, a worldwide news organization with a target audience of young people;  Vice News Tonight, a television station which partners with the A&E Network; Vice Studios, a project that creates and airs documentaries and other featured content; creative agency Virtue that operates in 21 countries as of 2020; Vice Digital which manages digital content and helps distributes articles as well as podcasts and videos; and Refinery29, a website bought by Vice in 2019 that is focused towards young women. 8 9

Activities

Vice has raised money by selling parts of the company off to various investors and media companies. Vice co-founder Shane Smith still controls 20% of the company. 10 The Walt Disney Company owns a substantial part of the media group. 11 A&E Networks bought a portion of Vice in 2017, 12 and James Murdoch bought a portion of the company in 2019. 13

In 2017, TPG Capital invested $450 million into Vice as a part of the $1.4 billion raised from investors. In 2019, the George Soros-owned Soros Capital Management was part of an investor consortium loaned $250 million to Vice. 14

Criticism

Vice has had a difficult time achieving profitability. In 2017, despite making over $700 million in revenue, Vice missed its revenue estimates by $100 million due to its cable TV channel struggeling with viewership numbers. 2

In 2019, Vice was forced to lay off ten percent of its workforce due to a revenue slowdown. 15 Following this, Vice was bought by private equity and investment management firm Fortress Investment Group. 16

Leadership

Adam Stotsky is the CEO of Vice as of 2025. Stotsky was appointed in June 2025 following former CEO Bruce Dixon leaving the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, Stotsky worked for nearly 20 years at NBCUniversal and worked with private equity backed entertainment companies like Tom Brady’s Religion of Sports and Dick Clark Productions. 17

Shane Smith is a co-founder of Vice and former executive chairman of the company. Previously, he was also the CEO of the company and resigned reportedly due to the continued failure of the company to make a profit. 11

References

  1. “Vice Tries to Turn the Page by Making Content for Others” New York Times. Accessed July 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/16/business/media/vice-media-television-studio.html#:~:text=That%20was%202011%2C%20and%20Mr,contributed%20reporting%20from%20New%20York.
  2.  Wiedeman, Reeves. 2018. “Vice Media Was Built On A Bluff. What Happens When It Gets Called?”. Intelligencer. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/06/inside-vice-media-shane-smith.html.
  3. “About”. 2020. Vice Global. https://company.vice.com/about/.
  4. Wiedeman, Reeves. 2018. “Vice Media Was Built On A Bluff. What Happens When It Gets Called?”. Intelligencer. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/06/inside-vice-media-shane-smith.html.
  5. Jason Wilson. “Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Quits ‘Extremist’ Far-Right Group.” The Guardian. November 22, 2018. Accessed November 1, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/22/proud-boys-founder-gavin-mcinnes-quits-far-right-group
  6. “About”. 2020. Vice Global. https://company.vice.com/about/.  
  7. “About”. 2020. Vice Global. https://company.vice.com/about/.
  8. Jerde, Sara. 2019. “Vice Media Group Will ‘Combine Forces’ With Refinery29”. Adweek. https://www.adweek.com/digital/vice-media-group-combine-forces-refinery29/.
  9. “About.” Vice Global, accessed August 12, 2025. https://company.vice.com/about/.
  10. Robehmed, Natalie. 2017. “Vice Media’s Shane Smith Is Now A Billionaire”. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2017/06/20/vice-medias-shane-smith-is-now-a-billionaire/#1ebca661611b.
  11. Spangler, Todd. 2019. “Vice Media Gets $250 Million In Debt Funding From George Soros, Other Investors”. Variety. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-250-million-debt-funding-george-soros-1203205076/.
  12. Bond, Paul. 2014. “A&E Networks Buying Minority Stake In Vice Media”. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a-e-networks-buying-minority-729183.
  13. Nicolaou, Anna, and James Fontanella-Khan. 2019. “James Murdoch Buys Stake In Vice Media”. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-10-10/james-murdoch-buys-stake-in-vice-media.
  14. Spangler, Todd. 2019. “Vice Media Gets $250 Million In Debt Funding From George Soros, Other Investors”. Variety. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-250-million-debt-funding-george-soros-1203205076/.
  15. Spangler, Todd. 2019. “Vice Media To Axe 10% Of Staff, Laying Off About 250 Employees, Amid Revenue Slowdown”. Variety. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-layoffs-250-employees-1203125890/.
  16. “Vice Media Stops Publishing On Website and Cuts Hundreds of Jobs.” Mariko Oi, BBC News. Accessed July  24, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68377742
  17. “Vice Media Hires Former NBCUniversal Executive for Studio-Focused Turnaround.” Isabella Simonetti, Wall Street Journal. Accessed July 24, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/vice-media-hires-former-nbcuniversal-executive-for-studio-focused-turnaround-f3a32289
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