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Comcast’s cable TV spinoff Versant has enlisted NBCUniversal’s Jessica Kurdali as its senior vp of talent strategy.

Kurdali joins Versant to lead its talent strategy from the NBCUniversal News Group, where she served as senior vp of talent strategy and development for NBC News and MSNBC. She will bring her talent management, recruitment and development skills to USA, Syfy, E!, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen and Golf Channel, as well as some digital businesses like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, that will make up Versant.

Kurdali joins the cable TV spinoff as it looks to bolster its senior leadership team and become a standalone media company led by CEO Mark Lazarus, CFO and COO Anand Kini, and chairman David Novak. An independent strategy for Versant will also look to establish the cable TV spinoff as a potential partner and acquirer of other complementary media businesses amid another expected wave of industry consolidation.

As Comcast rolls out Versant, its cable TV spinoff, CFO Jason Armstrong has touted the advantages in investing and building additional scale for SpinCo, to include USA Network, Syfy, MSNBC, and CNBC.

“For Versant, their opportunity is going to be a well capitalized company, a very strong management team, a lot of free cash flow, and the ability to do some things in digital that we weren’t necessarily thinking of,” Armstrong told the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference during a session on Thursday.

He added the SpinCo initiative, expected to be completed in late 2025, also opens the way for additional consolidation in the TV industry as a possible roll-up vehicle for more cable channels. “Not being too prescriptive about that, but if you look at the way they’re going to be set up, with a talented leadership team and a strong balance sheet, they’re going to have a lot of options,...

NBCUniversal and Comcast’s cable network portfolio spin-off Versant have brokered a new commercial service agreement that will see the former sell domestic advertising inventory for the latter under its One Platform banner.

Under the agreement, Versant’s properties, which include CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, USA and digital platforms Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine, will benefit from NBCU’s ad-tech stack, advanced targeting tools and real-time measurement capabilities.

The partnership will cover the next two upfront cycles.

NBCUniversal global advertising and partnerships chairman Mark Marshall will continue to manage the sales strategy and revenue for NBCUniversal and Versant’s key premium properties.

“NBCUniversal first introduced One Platform to make it easy for our clients to access the premium content across our ecosystem in one place,” Marshall said in a statement. “By entering into this partnership with Versant, we’re maintaining that simplicity for our partners and ensuring a single,...

The placeholder name SpinCo is no more. Comcast revealed that the new name for the spun-off entity that will house its cable network portfolio will be Versant.

“Versant represents more than a name – it speaks to our adaptability and embraces the opportunity to shape a new, modern media company. There were many considerations for a suitable name,” CEO Mark Lazarus told staffers in a memo on Tuesday. “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, which is defined as the slope of a mountain, is meant to evoke strength and forward movement. Executives had been internally discussing thousands of potential names for the spun-off entity since December and hired three different branding agencies to help decide. Only 43 of those names would pass the preliminary knockout and...

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.

Versant will be led by CEO Mark Lazarus, CFO and COO Anand Kini, and chairman David Novak, with sernior 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...

NBCUniversal owner Comcast has disclosed the 2024 compensation packages for chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and president Michael Cavanagh, along with pay details for other top executives.

Comcast’s proxy statement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, showed that Roberts’ pay was $33.9 million in 2024, compared with $35.5 million in 2023. He had made $32.1 million in 2022, $34.0 million in 2021, $32.7 million in 2020, and $36.4 million in 2019.

Cavanagh’s compensation package was worth $28.3 million last year, compared with $29.6 million in 2023. He had made $40.5 million in 2022 when he served as chief financial officer until being promoted to president in October 2022.

Comcast’s stock dropped 14 percent in 2024. The company’s revenue, earnings, and adjusted net income rose for the year, while its free cash flow declined 3 percent.

The company reported Q1 earnings earlier this week, with Peacock still losing money (albeit narrowing is losses) and adding subscribers. However, steeper declines than expected in broadband led to a stock decline on the street.

David Novak. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Comcast has picked David Novak to serve as the Chairman of the Board for the future company that will consist of the cable giant’s national pay television networks, currently dubbed “SpinCo.”

Novak is the co-founder of Yum Brands — the quick-service restaurant chain spun out from PepsiCo in the late 1990s and which consists of recognizable brands like KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger and Pizza Hut — where he also worked as the CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Comcast said Novak will bring “nearly 40 years of experience leading and growing well-known consumer brands to the company’s new brand,” which will consist of its cable networks like MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, E! and SyFy, as well as digital assets like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.

“As Comcast separates this business, we’re excited that SpinCo will have the talent and success of David Novak as its new Chairman,...

Comcast has appointed Yum! Brands co-founder and former CEO David Novak to lead SpinCo’s board of directors as chairman.

Novak, who brings nearly 40 years of experience leading and growing well-known consumer brands, will formally assume the role upon the cable network portfolio’s spinoff by the end of 2025. He will vacate his current position on Comcast’s board of directors, which he has held since December 2016.

In addition to currently serving on Comcast’s board, Novak sits on the board of the Lift-a-Life Novak Family Foundation and is the founder and CEO of David Novak Leadership, a digital platform that teaches people skills to transform themselves into better leaders.

He served as CEO of Yum! Brands from 2000 to 2014, helping transform one of the world’s largest restaurant companies into a global powerhouse of leading brands after it was spun out from PepsiCo in 1997. He also served as its board...

Comcast has appointed David Novak, one of its board members and the former CEO of fast-food company Yum! Brands, as chairman of its soon-to-spin-off collection of cable TV networks.

SpinCo, as the entity is called on a temporary basis, is aiming to separate from Comcast by the end of the year. It will have major networks including MSNBC, USA and others from the NBCUniversal fold, with Bravo remaining at the parent company with NBC and Telemundo.

In a statement, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts saluted the “talent and success” of Novak, who steered Yum! from 2000-14. PepsiCo created the company as a stand-alone entity (speaking of spincos) after acquiring KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

“With David’s track record of driving growth and value creation at public companies, he is the ideal person to assemble and lead a world-class board,” Roberts said. “David has been an invaluable member of Comcast...

SpinCo has a chairman.

Comcast’s spinoff of its cable channel assets has named David Novak to be the chairman of its board of directors, working with CEO Mark Lazarus to help the company launch and execute on its strategy.

SpinCo (its name is still Tbd) will be comprised of most of Comcast’s cable TV channels (Bravo excluded), as well as some digital properties, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel, as well as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine.

Novak, a longtime board member of Comcast, is the former CEO of Yum! Brands, which was itself a spinoff from a larger company. Yum! owned Tac Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut and was spun out of PepsiCo. He will leave Comcast’s board once the spinoff is complete.

His first order of business at SpinCo will be building a board of directors to oversee the...

David Novak, co-founder of the fast-food giant behind KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, was named chairman of the company that will be formed by Comcast’s decision to spin off the many cable networks of NBCUniversal.

“As Comcast separates this business, we’re excited that SpinCo will have the talent and success of David Novak as its new Chairman,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation, in a statement. “With David’s track record of driving growth and value creation at public companies, he is the ideal person to assemble and lead a world-class board. David has been an invaluable member of Comcast’s board and widely recognized as a top CEO – I’m confident that he will work with Mark Lazarus to give the new company a distinct advantage from day one.”

Novak will assume the role upon completion of the spin-off, which is slated to...

Stars: Tim Abell, Marliss Amiea, Catherine Annette, Richard Grieco, Erika Jordan, Tawny Kitaen, Rya Meyers, David Novak, Christine Nguyen, Bobby Rice, Don Scribner | Written by Fred Olen Ray, Andrew Helm | Directed by Fred Olen Ray

As a teen just getting into the world of low-budget horror movies, and straight to VHS fare, there were a handful of directors whose work I would buy and/or rent without fail and without any prior knowledge (besides the spiel on the back of the box) of what i was getting into. One of those directors was Fred Olen Ray, the genius behind such films as Scalps, Star Slammer, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Evil Toons, Cyclone and the awesome Scream Queen Hot Tub Party. However in the intervening years it’s safe to say I haven’t had the urge to watch as many of his flicks as I did in the 80s/90s heyday...

Lance Dumais' directorial debut 'Armynel' is set for a DVD release later this month across the Us. The flick stars ex-'Survivor' contestant Danielle Dilorenzo who plays Felicia the lesbian lover of lead star Mariel Gomsrud's character. David Novak, Dave Ehrman, Phil Aslaksen and horror actor Bill Oberst Jr. also star. 'Armynel' arrives on DVD on 16 July and you can check out the one-sheet and trailer below!...