Vice Australia and Refinery29 will join Pedestrian group in a multi-year deal with Vice media group.
Pedestrian Group, Australia’s largest youth-focused publisher, has signed a multi-year deal with VICE Media Group, the world’s biggest independent youth media company.
This is a global first for VICE. The partnership means that Pedestrian Group will be the exclusive publishing and commercial partner for VICE Australia, and will launch Refinery29 in the Australian and New Zealand markets.
Refinery29, which has US, UK, and German editions, is aimed at young women and covers culture, entertainment, politics, and more.
In a press conference on Friday, Matt Rowley, CEO of Pedestrian Group said, “we could see spaces for VICE and Refinery 29.” He was insistent on the fact that the deal would mean building up the teams, with “absolutely no down-sizing or lay-offs.”
On maintaining the VICE voice and brand, he said that “we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t want to work with that VICE voice.”
Myki Slonim, President VICE Digital at VICE Asia Pacific described the deal as, “a real case of planets aligning.”
The deal is a number of months in the making and follows a strategic review which led to Pedestrian Group’s decision to stop licensing POPSUGAR Australia, and ends its representations of Tinder’s commercial interests in the local market.
Slonim also said in a statement that, “the partnership with Pedestrian Group is an incredible opportunity to establish Refinery29 in Australia, and build on VICE’s reputation for culture-defining storytelling.”
Simone Oliver, Global Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29 added, “we are so excited to expand Refinery29 into the Australian market. The ethos of this platform is to be able to create a space for women and for underrepresented voices to be seen and heard.”
“Being able to make an impact on their lives and celebrate expression. We look forward to seeing how this platform is received here – and continuing to grow the Refinery audience.”
VICE Australia will immediately begin operating under Pedestrian Group, and Refinery29 will launch in the first half of 2021.
Pedestrian Group plans to invest in both brands over a number of years to grow them both editorially and commercially, while still working closely with VICE Media Group at a global level. This will ensure that the voices of both brands remain distinct.
VICE Media Group’s content partnership with SBS Australia, and its linear TV Channel with SKY New Zealand will remain unchanged.
