The change was considered inevitable after the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal in January, a deal that merged Versus and the Golf Channel with NBC Sports under the cable giant’s umbrella. Dick Ebersol had hinted at a Versus name change before his surprising resignation as the NBC Sports chief in May.
Lazarus, Ebersol’s successor, described the change as “beyond logical.’’
“It allows us to completely align the sports assets of this new combined company,’’ said Lazarus, who noted that the Golf Channel would retain its name, with NBC’s golf telecasts already being presented as “Golf Channel on NBC.’’
“It gives us the ability now to go to rights-holders and to work with rights-holders to create what we think are the most comprehensive sports offerings on those television platforms plus digital.’’
Lazarus said there is no imminent name change planned for Comcast SportsNet New England and the 10 other Comcast-owned regional sports networks, though the graphics and on-air look will evolve.
“You’ll see more and more the influence of the NBC Sports production,’’ he said. “We really believe that anything that has the NBC or Comcast Sports name on it should have a certain level of quality and production style to it. So there will be some uniformity to that.’’
The change in Versus’s name - as well as a much-ballyhooed update to the NBC Sports logo - is a meaningful tweak in an intensely competitive marketplace where billions of dollars are at stake. Consider the significant moves Comcast and NBC Sports Group have been involved with in the seven months since the merger:
■In April, the NHL and Comcast/NBC agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth $2 billion.
■In June, Comcast/NBC locked up Olympic broadcast rights through 2020 for approximately $4.4 billion.
■In July, ESPN reached a 12-year agreement for the US broadcast rights to Wimbledon, ending the tennis tournament’s 43-year association with NBC when the deal begins next year.
