Comcast’s spin-off of much of the NBCUniversal channels business will be known as Versant, the company has confirmed.
Chief executive Mark Lazarus said the new name was chosen to emphasise its versatility and its familiarity with multiple subjects.
Broadband TV News found a UK recruitment company and a division of the educational publisher Pearson had also adopted the name. However, the name will be largely unseen for those interacting with US cable channels USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel.
“We’re going to focus on the individual brands that we have, not the corporate name,” Lazarus said in an interview with Comcast-owned CNBC, one of the channels that will be spun out of Comcast later this year. “This is a holding company name. It’s going to be used for business-to-business purposes.”
Lazarus confirmed there are no plans to launch a Versant streaming service – NBC’s Peacock is remaining with Comcast – instead the individual brands will be free to develop their own digital strategies.
