Comcast’s Cable TV Spinoff Now Has a Name: Versant

Comcast's cable TV spinoff company now has a name: Versant.

The new venture, first unveiled last year , will include most of Comcast's cable TV assets, including USA, Syfy, E!, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen and Golf Channel, as well as some digital businesses like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.

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Versant will be led by CEO Mark Lazarus, CFO and COO Anand Kini, and chairman David Novak , with senior executives largely plucked from the ranks of NBCUniversal.

Lazarus announced the name in a memo to staff Tuesday, adding that the company would also reveal a location for its future Manhattan headquarters (as well as a temporary headquarters) in the coming weeks.

"When we first announced the spin off, we knew it would require a new way forward for our iconic and beloved brands. We've done a lot of work over the last few months to identify who we are and how we will create a successful company, which led us to this next step," Lazarus wrote in his memo. "With that in mind, I am thrilled to announce the name of our new company Versant, a blueprint for versatility, growth, and innovation. Versant is the house for our incredible brands, each of which stand on their own.

"Versant represents more than a name — it speaks to our adaptability and embraces the opportunity to shape a new, modern media company," he added. "There were many considerations for a suitable name. Our internal team of incredibly skilled and experienced brand marketers, designers and media tacticians took into account our overarching goal to influence culture, connect communities and signify a unified direction forward."

Versant will have a heavy focus on news thanks to MSNBC and CNBC, though the split from NBCUniversal means that MSNBC is having to staff up a news division of its own. Lazarus wrote in his memo that the company will launch a careers site shortly.

Splitting from NBCUniversal should give the company more flexibility to pursue M&A or develop new strategies outside of the Peacock ecosystem that NBCU built, though there will still be connective tissue between the companies for at least an interim period of time, and the Roberts family will own controlling stakes in both entities.

You can read Lazarus' full memo below.

Team, 

When we first announced the spin off, we knew it would require a new way forward for our iconic and beloved brands. We've done a lot of work over the last few months to identify who we are and how we will create a successful company, which led us to this next step.