‘Vice News Tonight’ Aims for ‘Touch-Enabled’ Youth

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Vice News Tonightdebuts on HBO Oct. 10. Josh Tyrangiel, Vice executive VP of content and news, has promised a shakeup of TV news. The daily program will feature “narrators” in lieu of anchors, talking viewers through segments.

Tyrangiel promises a “graphics-heavy” approach and plenty of surprises. “The decline in nightly news audience has been well documented,” he says. “A fair amount of that is due to format.” Tyrangiel also speaks of a “touch-enabled show” for those in mobile mode. That was a factor in Vice pushing the start date back two weeks. “We have to get the workflow right,” he says.

Casey Bloys, HBO president of programming, says Vice has a knack for reaching a younger demo. “A daily show is a new venture for us and for our subscribers so we anticipate it’ll take some time for it to be discovered,” he says. “But they know how to tell stories and make noise.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.