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Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said Wednesday that US media companies need to be free to conduct business without political interference.
“I think the less politics involved in our businesses, the better,” Lazarus said at Semafor World Economy in Washington, DC.
His remarks come amid concerns over political influence weighing on Paramount Skydance’s controversial potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“I think whether it’s this administration or others, some take a point of view that we should be, that government should be heavily involved in things, and some feel less so. I go with less so,” Lazarus said.
Versant, a new media company recently spun out of Comcast, is parent to CNBC and MS NOW. It has been making acquisitions as it looks to diversify its business from a heavy reliance on cable television.
Lazarus also noted that CNN’s recent shift to the right widens the lane for MS NOW. “We definitely have a network that leans democratic,” he said. “The wider the field is for us or the more open the field is for us to talk to an audience, I think that is better for us.”
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Versant has a longtime stake in Vox Media’s podcast network, Lazarus acknowledged, when asked about rumors of a possible acquisition. “We own a piece of it, so it’s natural if they’re going to start a process that we would take a look at it,” he said.