While Versant CEO Mark Lazarus referred to NBCUniversal as “cousins” and “old friends,” he and CFO Anand Kini downplayed the notion that they will scoop up more linear TV assets after spinning off from Comcast.
“We’re very happy with the portfolio that we have.,” Kini said during the company’s investor day in New York. He pointed to the current level of revenue accounted for by pay-TV – 62%, declining to 50% in the coming years, adding, “We don’t really feel that there’s much value for us, frankly, and having more scale in that area.”
Versant will spin off from Comcast in early January, controlling all of NBCU’s cable stable except for Bravo. The NBC broadcast network, Telemundo, local stations, sports and news are staying with the mother ship.
Across the industry, linear assets are becoming available, with Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Global Media and many others pursuing their strategic options as they cope with declining viewership and revenue.
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Sports will be a key pillar for Versant. Lazarus, who has a strong foundation in sports over his 40-year career in the media business, was asked about the outlook for sports rights. The company currently has licenses for Olympics, Premier League and other NBCU offerings
Lazarus said the company would consider three main questions about a given property when sizing up sports rights: “Does it have an audience? Does it drive diversification of ad revenue? And what does it mean to our disribution partners?” Translation of that last question: Would pay-TV operators be able to charge higher fees to customers?
“If you get to buy a property that handles all three of those, that’s a big one,” he added. “Two of those three, that’s probably pretty good. If it only hits one of those three, it’s probably not something we’re gonna look at.”