Vice Distribution Hires Ex-Discovery Exec Elise Ching As APAC Region Sales Director

Vice Distribution Hires Ex-Discovery Exec Elise Ching As APAC Region Sales Director

EXCLUSIVE: VICE Distribution, the sales arm of Vice Media Group, has hired Elise Ching as Sales Director for APAC.

She’ll join this month and is charged with maximizing the value of the Vice brand in the Asia Pacific region, with a particular focus on diversifying revenue streams and striking innovative deals — with Vice particularly keen on FAST channels at the moment.

Ching is a former Discovery program sales exec, but left before it merged with Warner Bros. Before Discovery, she worked at Scripps Networks Interactive, Seven Network in Australia, AXN and MTV Asia.

The hires comes ahead of the Asia Television Forum where Vice is launching doc series Tales From the Territories, which is from the producers of wrestling doc Dark Side of the Ring and is in partnership with exec producers Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. Also launching for buyers are true crime series Devoured and Sex Before The Internet.

The news also follows a reorganization at Vice Distribution parent Vice Media Group, which saw Morgan Hertzan and Cory Haik promoted and Jesse Angelo renewing his contract. Those changes, which followed former Vice Studios boss Kate Ward moving to BBC Studios, saw Hertzan take on control of international distribution as President of Global TV and Bea Hegedus upped to Executive Managing Director, Distribution for Vice Media Group.

“APAC is a key growth area for us as we look to capitalise on the success of the Vice brand and the popularity of our diverse content in the region,” said Hegedus. “I am delighted that Elise will be joining Vice to drive our business in this important market and deliver on our global distribution strategy, taking advantage of Vice’s unique position within a rapidly changing content distribution landscape.”

Ching said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to join a globally recognised brand and groundbreaking content creator, synonymous with producing award-winning, entertaining programming that resonates with young people all over the world. I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to grow the business in the region.”

Vice Distribution has a catalogue of over 1,000 hours of programming.