Overview
- Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said Tuesday at a media conference that the company is unlikely to buy Skydance’s cable networks and will not pursue large-scale cable acquisitions in the short term.
- Lazarus argued that adding more cable channels would only prolong reliance on a business facing falling viewership and ad revenue and would not improve the company’s long-term prospects.
- Versant was spun out of Comcast/NBCUniversal this year and keeps major legacy networks such as MS NOW, CNBC, USA and Syfy while also owning digital businesses like Fandango and Golf Now.
- The company plans to push digital to become its main revenue source within three to five years, noting digital now makes up under 25% of revenue, and is weighing whether to renew, bring in-house, or move its NBCUniversal ad-sales arrangement.
- Skydance has said it does not intend to sell networks and will use their cash flow to pay down debt, and investors remain skeptical of Versant’s plan with the company’s stock trading about 29% below its January debut.