Latest news with #TomWiniarski
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NBCUniversal Strikes Deal to Sell Versant Ads for Two Cycles
NBCUniversal is parting ways with many of its cable networks, but the company will continue to sell all the commercials that appear on those outlets for the next two years. NBCU and Versant, the company that parent Comcast is spinning off, have reached a commercial-services agreement that will allow NBC to sell Versant's U.S. advertising inventory through the next two 'upfront' cycles, when TV networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial time. Versant has a portfolio of cable networks that includes MSNBC, USA and CNBC, among others. More from Variety Versant Is New Name for Comcast Spin-Off Comcast Sees Q1 Profit Dip on Cable and Ad Revenue Declines, Peacock Climbs to 41 Million Subscribers Snoop Dogg Seals New Pact With NBCUniversal for His Death Row Pictures and a Return to 'The Voice' Mark Marshall, NBCU's chairman of global advertising and partnerships, will continue to manage sales strategy and revenue for both companies' properties, while Tom Winiarski, an NBCU veteran, will move to Versant to serve as executive vice president of ad sales strategy and monetization. Winiarski has worked as president of platform monetization at NBCU for the past five years. 'By entering into this partnership with Versant, we're maintaining that simplicity for our partners and ensuring a single, dedicated sales team will represent the companies' collective inventory and drive revenue for all the iconic IP that our viewers love,' Marshall said in a prepared statement. While cable properties are under scrutiny in the streaming era, as TV viewers move to watch scripted favorites on broadband hubs, they have been an integral part of NBCU's sales strategy for years. According to media buyers, NBCU often uses cable properties like Bravo or E! to help advertisers get additional impressions with viewers, and their use can help sweeten some of the deals NBC strikes for more premium assets like its flagship broadcast network. NBCU and Versant will still be partners in various endeavors. Versant's cable networks, for example, are expected to continue to show certain sports events under rights deals struck between NBCU and various sports leagues. 'We're building Versant as a new, modern media company equipped with industry-leading brands across news, sports and entertainment, and the ability to strike the right partnerships to fuel investment and drive revenue,' said Mark Lazarus, Versant's CEO, in a statement. 'NBCUniversal operates a best-in-class advertising sales and strategy division, and partnering with Mark Marshall and his team, alongside Tom Winiarski in his new role, will enable Versant to operate seamlessly and with agility from the start.' The two companies may have devised an ad-sales arrangement that will help in the present, but what will happen in the future? Media buyers are curious as to whether NBCU will be able to continue to sell Versant's commercial inventory — the company has sold ad space for Apple News for several years — and what might happen if it can no longer do so. Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
07-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
NBCUniversal to sell ads for cable spinoff Versant
NBCUniversal on Wednesday announced it will sell ads for Versant, the new name for Comcast's spinoff of most of its cable networks including USA, CNBC and MSNBC. Why it matters: The deal allows Versant to focus on programming and product while outsourcing ads to NBCU, which already intimately understands the portfolio. Zoom in: NBCUniversal said the two-year agreement includes the domestic ad inventory for CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, USA and digital platforms and will be available in One Platform, its unified service for media buying. Mark Marshall, NBCU's chairman of global advertising and partnerships, will manage the sales strategy. NBCU's president of platform monetization Tom Winiarski will move to Versant as executive vice president of ad sales strategy and monetization. "By entering into this partnership with Versant, we're maintaining that simplicity for our partners and ensuring a single, dedicated sales team will represent the companies' collective inventory and drive revenue for all the iconic IP that our viewers love," Marshall said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Zoom out: This arrangement isn't the first time NBCU has served as seller for another company. Apple partnered with NBCU in 2019 to be the exclusive seller of ads in Apple Stocks and Apple News. Apple now sells its own inventory, but the previous arrangement and this new deal shows a wider opportunity for NBCU to be an ad seller against other properties. The big picture: NBCU, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, has grown into an ad sales behemoth and helped diversify and grow Comcast's revenue. Under previous ad chief Linda Yaccarino, the business was publicized as exceeding $12 billion in annual ad revenue. The media giant brought in record-breaking revenue for the Olympics at $1.9 billion in the 2024 Paris Games. It's betting on more revenue wins around upcoming big events including the next Super Bowl, the NBA and more Olympics. What we're watching: Versant will have to chart its own future for streaming as NBCU keeps Peacock. CNBC launched its own streaming service, CNBC+, that's available on Roku and Apple TV devices.
