Keep pulling the thread on Mark Lazarus.
Approximately 80% of Versant's current revenue is derived from the pay television ecosystem.
Versant's long-term strategic goal is to shift its revenue mix to be 50% from pay television and 50% from other, non-pay TV sources.
Versant's golf business has achieved a revenue mix of 50% from pay TV and 50% from non-pay TV sources, serving as a model for the company's overall transformation.
The National Football League (NFL) mandates that games shown exclusively on streaming services must also be made available on free over-the-air television in the local markets of the competing teams.
Versant was formed as a spin-off from Comcast and NBC Universal, initially comprising 11 distinct businesses.
Versant's initial portfolio included seven linear TV networks (CNBC, MS Now, Golf Channel, USA Network, E!, Sci-Fi, Oxygen) and four digital businesses (Golf Now, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, Sports Engine).
Versant organizes its business into four vertical markets: personal finance and business news (CNBC), news and political opinion (MS Now), golf, and sports and genre entertainment (USA Network).
Versant's sports media rights portfolio includes NASCAR, the English Premier League, wrestling, the WNBA, and women's volleyball.
Live news and sports programming accounts for 62% of Versant's total viewership.
Versant is unlikely to acquire CNN because it would create too much overlap with its existing news networks, and the company prefers to expand into new vertical markets.
Versant holds an equity stake in Vox Media, which it inherited from a previous investment made by NBCUniversal.
Versant is building the first direct-to-consumer, video-focused digital business for its MS Now brand.