Versant has found its permanent office space in New York City at the former New York Times building, now home to Snap Inc., TikTok, Paramount Global and Bank of America, among others.
The linear spinoff, which contains USA Network, CNBC, MSNOW and other cable networks moved into the located at 229 West 43rd St. in August. The company intended for the office space to be a temporary home as they searched for a permanent location, but in a memo Monday, Versant CEO Mark Lazarus told staffers the location fit the criteria better than any other option, so they decided to stay put.
“When we set out to find a temporary New York office, our top priority was finding a location that allowed us to house our new company and studios to produce our programming. In less than six months, we accomplished the impossible,” he said.
“What we didn’t expect was the opportunity for our temporary home, the historic New York Times building, to become our permanent one,” he added. “After careful consideration and hearing from many of you about how this location makes your commute more manageable, we have decided to remain here. We are excited to become a fixture in this hub of media, entertainment and finance, joining our neighbors – Paramount Global, Snap Inc., TikTok, Roku, Nasdaq, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.”
When the company initially moved to the building, they did not have as much space to house all of the company’s programming and administrative tasks. The building owners offered the company a proposal to expand its holdings by 50%, according to Lazarus. Versant will now occupy three more floors of the building with more offices, seating, conference rooms and outdoor amenities.
The area was selected due to its studio availability, production spaces and its central location for commuters within the Tri-State area. Other factors in the decision included the location’s “operational effectiveness” and physical separation from NBCUniversal.
“Leaving 30 Rock and settling into this unique space was not always easy, but it has also become a special moment in our company’s history,” Lazarus said. “Now, we look forward to setting down roots and transforming this space into our own permanent VERSANT New York Headquarters together.”
In addition to its corporate teams, the permanent location will house some entertainment teams and MSNBC, including its New York studio space and a production facility. Versant will house USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel and digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine.
CNBC will remain in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, which will also serve as Versant’s technical operations hubs. MSNBC and CNBC will also continue to operate its DC Bureau out of 400 North Capitol, where Versant is securing dedicated space.
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