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According to the New York Times: The platform, valued at $5.7 billion at its peak, appears to be finding no buyer.
Vice, the platform that rocked the established media and was seen as the future of the industry with its original and aggressive approaches, is apparently on the verge of bankruptcy: The New York Times reports that the platform, which is now facing serious financial problems, is unlikely to find a buyer. This would mean that the main debtor, Fortress Investment Group, would take over the platform and likely continue to operate it.
Vice has already been valued at $5.7 billion, with Disney and Fox, among others, investing in the platform. Now it should only be worth a fraction of that. Disney has already canceled its investment in Vice.
Noise
Vice’s punk-inspired approach to journalism has become legendary – and often copied: the platform praised its original, sometimes wacky approach to news. Articles were characterized by self-experiments having to do with drugs, sex or bodily fluids; reporting from dangerous areas or on-site surveys where no established media would have sent a journalist. The articles – the Vice media universe also featured TV documentaries, an ad agency and more – were well-written and made essential noise in the attention economy of online news.
But the media landscape – and the online advertising market in particular – has changed in ways that Vice has been unable to accommodate. For years, the company tried to turn a profit; however, this was unsuccessful.
The New York Times reports that there are still interested parties that could keep Vice from going bankrupt through an acquisition. But the chances of that happening are decreasing.
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