Yeah, Baby! Comcast's New Spin-Off is Named 'Versant' - Groovy or Just Plain Shagadelic?

Smashing Baby! What's This 'Versant' All About?

Alright groovy cats and kittens! Austin Powers here reporting live from my shag tastic lair. Comcast yeah the big kahuna of cable is doing a bit of a jig and spinning off a huge chunk of its NBCUniversal empire. And guess what they're calling it? 'Versant'! Sounds a bit like 'versatile,' doesn't it? That's the point baby! According to Chief Executive Officer Mark Lazarus this Versant is all about being flexible and knowing a little bit about everything. Sounds like me at a disco yeah baby!

Oh Behave! Which Channels Are Getting Themselves Some 'Versant'?

Now who's moving into this new Versant pad? Well buckle your swanky boots because it's a whole bunch of cool cats! We're talking USA CNBC MSNBC Oxygen E! SYFY and even the Golf Channel. Plus all those hip digital thingamajigs like Fandango Rotten Tomatoes GolfNow GolfPass and SportsEngine are joining the party. The rest of the NBCUniversal gang like the main NBC channel Peacock Universal Studios and Bravo are staying put. Think of it like this: Versant is like the cool younger sibling moving out with all the fun toys!

Not My Bag Baby! Versant's Brand Strategy Revealed

Lazarus is saying the name isn't something you and I will see splashed across the TV baby! Instead they want Versant to be a brand behind the brands focusing on the individual networks and platforms. It's like Dr. Evil hiding in the shadows while his henchmen cause mayhem. He wants to focus on the brands not the holding company name for businessy purposes whatever that means! Versant won't have its own streaming service baby!

Yeah Baby Yeah! The Money Honey!

So how much cheddar are we talking about baby? Apparently these assets raked in about $7 billion last year. That's a lot of moolah even for Dr. Evil! Lazarus will need to impress Wall Street after the launch. He might be making moves into fintech personal finance and even podcasts baby! Who knows what else he has up his sleeve!

Get In My Belly! Not Another Streaming Service!

Hold your horses groovy people! Versant won't launch its own streaming service Lazarus says. Instead it will rely on the individual brands. 20% of Versant's revenue is already digital. The new company will be returning money to its shareholders baby!

Groovy Baby! A Name is Born!

So how did they come up with the name 'Versant,' you ask? Well they got all the marketing gurus from each brand together had a bit of a brainstorming sesh and bam! They had over a thousand names. But after the lawyers got involved it was whittled down to 43. Versant literally means a region of land sloping in one direction and Lazarus jokingly said it reminds him of a rising stock price baby!