HBO’s upcoming “Vice News Tonight” has been aimed at the generation of TV viewers who see the evening news as something their grandmothers watch before “Wheel of Fortune” comes on.
But making the nightly program from the renegade journalists at Vice Media a true alternative to the format that has been a fixture of the broadcast networks for more than 60 years has been an uphill climb.
That has been a reason, for which HBO is delaying the launch of the program to Oct. 10 after previously announcing a Sept. 26 debut. The program has been perfecting a technical aspect that will allow viewers to access additional graphics or data related to a story when they watch “Vice News Tonight” on a digital device with a touch screen.
Josh Tyrangiel, Vice’s executive vice president for content, who offered up a first look at the program Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in Brooklyn. N.Y said,“We want to test it end to end to make sure it’s perfect,” said .
The nightly program is going to be a bold experiment for Vice and HBO. Millennial viewers have grown up without the habit of watching the evening news at 6:30 PM. Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox have taken significant stakes in the company.
The hope is that a regular TV platform will expose Vice to a wider audience and convert its dedicated young followers to regular HBO viewers.
The 30 minutes “Vice News Tonight” will air weeknights at 7:30 PM ET and PT on HBO and will then be available on demand through a cable provider or the online viewing apps HBO Now and HBO Go.
The addition of a daily Vice program has beens expected to draw more subscribers to HBO Now, the over-the-top version of the premium cable channel that has been streamed on the Internet.
By Prakriti Neogi
