It’s official: Comcast has separated from Versant Media, the new home to cable networks including MS NOW, CNBC, E!, Oxygen, Golf Channel, USA Network and SYFY. “Today marks a defining moment as Versant becomes an independent, publicly traded media company,” said CEO Mark Lazarus. “As a standalone company, we enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model.” NBC, Telemundo, Bravo and Peacock remain under the Comcast umbrella.
The board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has voted to formally dissolve the organization after the Trump administration and Congress voted to defund it. “For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans – regardless of geography, income, or background – had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” said CPB President/CEO Patricia Harrison. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”
Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” has been renewed for a fifth and final, eight-episode season. The first four seasons of the crime drama ran for ten episodes. Also coming back is Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” for a sixth season.
Dish Network is counter-suing Disney and ESPN over its Sling TV short-term subscription passes. Disney’s lawsuit claimed the passes violate the terms of the companies’ carriage deal; in November a federal judge ruled in Dish’s favor. Now, Dish alleges Disney is leveraging its market power to “destroy competition.” The countersuit also alleges that Disney gave competitors favorable terms but refused to extend…
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Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” has been renewed for a fifth and final, eight-episode season. The first four seasons of the crime drama ran for ten episodes. Also coming back is Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” for a sixth season.