When Vice Media held a board meeting in Las Vegas early last year, Chief Executive Shane Smith was riding high. He had just won $1 million at blackjack, and now the digital media company and representatives of Walt Disney Co. were in the Bellagio Resort’s presidential suite to seal a deal that would give Mr. Smith the prize he long sought—a Vice television channel. But there was a sticking point. Sony Corp. had just been...

Source: Wall Street Journal August 23, 2016 14:48 UTC