Business
Versant launches, Comcast spins off E!, CNBC and MS NOW
Comcast has officially spun off its cable channels, including CNBC and MS NOW, into a separate company, Versant Media Group.
The transaction was completed late Friday. On Monday, Versant took a major tumble in its stock market debut — providing a key test of investors’ willingness to hold on to legacy cable channels.
The initial outlook wasn’t pretty, providing awkward moments for CNBC anchors reporting the story.
Versant fell 13% to $40.57 a share on its inaugural trading day. The stock opened Monday on Nasdaq at $45.17 per share.
Comcast opted to cast off the still-profitable cable channels, except for the perennially popular Bravo, as Wall Street has soured on the business, which has been contracting amid a consumer shift to streaming.
Versant’s market performance will be closely watched as Warner Bros. Discovery attempts to separate its cable channels, including CNN, TBS and Food Network, from Warner Bros. studios and HBO later this year. Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav’s plan, which is scheduled to take place in the summer, is being contested by the Ellison family’s Paramount, which has launched a hostile bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to sell itself to Netflix in an $82.7-billion deal.
The market’s distaste for cable channels has been playing out in recent years. Paramount found itself on the auction block two years ago, in part because of the weight of its struggling cable channels, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
Management of the New York-based Versant, including longtime NBCUniversal sports and television executive Mark Lazarus, has been bullish on the company’s balance sheet and its prospects for growth. Versant also includes USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass and SportsEngine.
“As a standalone company, we enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model,” Lazarus, who is Versant’s chief executive, said Monday in a statement.
Through the spin-off, Comcast shareholders received one share of Versant Class A common stock or Versant Class B common stock for every 25 shares of Comcast Class A common stock or Comcast Class B common stock, respectively. The Versant shares were distributed after the close of Comcast trading Friday.
Comcast gained about 3% on Monday, trading around $28.50.
Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts holds 33% of Versant’s controlling shares.
Business
Video: Ferrari’s Stock Falls After It Unveils Its Latest Car
new video loaded: Ferrari’s Stock Falls After It Unveils Its Latest Car
transcript
transcript
Ferrari’s Stock Falls After It Unveils Its Latest Car
The Italian sports car manufacturer received significant backlash after it unveiled its first electric vehicle, the Luce, earlier this week.
-
It doesn’t shout Ferrari. And for a company whose entire history is based on making dynamic-looking, sleek cars, it’s maybe harder for Ferrari to get around than it is for other manufacturers.
By Jamie Leventhal
May 27, 2026
Business
Dark Horse Comics to close all Things From Another World storefronts
After nearly 50 years of selling all things comics, Dark Horse is closing its Things From Another World retail locations.
The publishing house, well known for series such as “Hellboy” and “The Umbrella Academy,” operated two storefronts in Oregon and maintained a flagship store at L.A.’s Universal Citywalk. The Oregon shops will close in June, and the L.A. location will close in September. The company said in a statement that these closures are a part of its efforts to “modernize.”
“This was not an easy decision, and we do not take lightly the impact it has on the people directly affected,” Dark Horse said in a statement.
As the company moves away from the retail business, the Oregon-based publisher said it plans to focus more on its creators and writers, “ensuring they have the development support, creative partnerships, and resources to bring their visions to life across film and television.” Over the years, Dark Horse has become one of the largest comics publishers in the country.
The company also recently launched a games division focused on providing creators with development opportunities in interactive entertainment.
Dark Horse added, “We believe these changes further focus Dark Horse on its successful core publishing and collectibles business and on deepening our relationship with our fans and the retail community alike.”
The structural changes came a week after Dark Horse Media, which oversees Dark Horse Comics, was rolled into a new parent company, Fellowship Entertainment. The Stockholm-listed entertainment business was formed through a company split at Embracer Group. Under this separation, Fellowship Entertainment is now home to companies such as Dark Horse Media and Crystal Dynamics, as well as IPs such as “The Lord of the Rings” and “Tomb Raider.”
Dark Horse was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson. He had initially opened Pegasus Books in Bend, Ore., in 1980, with plans to become an author. But as the retail business expanded, he instead decided to get into the publishing industry with Dark Horse. In the first few years of the company, he popularized comic series based on movies such as “Star Wars,” “Aliens” and “Predator.” Today, the company represents over 350 properties across comics, books, films, television, electronic games, toys and collectibles.
The closing of Things From Another World at Universal Citywalk marks the loss of another legacy comic store in the city. In recent years, many storied shops such as Geoffrey’s Comics in Torrance, Earth-2 Comics in Sherman Oaks and Hi De-Ho Comics in Santa Monica have all been forced to close due in part to a struggling retail market.
Business
Angry Ferrari fans say the Italian company’s new EV is too Californian
Ferrari’s first-ever fully electric vehicle triggered some fans who said it looks more like an iPhone than an Italian supercar.
The $640,000 Ferrari Luce, which was unveiled on Wednesday, looks like a distant relative of many Apple products. It was built with the help of Jony Ive, the person who designed the look and feel of the Cupertino company’s iPhone, iPod and Macintosh through 2019.
“Legend has it that if you pull the Ferrari badge off the side of the new Luce you see an Apple logo underneath,” one user wrote on X.
A meme circulated portraying the Luce with iPhone applications photo-shopped onto the top, and another showing the car upside down and plugged into an iPhone charger.
To accommodate more batteries and seats, the new EV is bigger and boxier than most classic Ferraris. Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, which he started in San-Francisco after leaving Apple, was brought in to try to meld the traditions of Ferrari with the new functionality and form allowed by a battery-powered engine.
In a marketing video, Ferrari’s chief design officer, Flavio Manzoni, said he sees the Luce “acting as a bridge between San Francisco and Maranello,” the northern Italian city where Ferrari is headquartered.
The four-door, five-seat car comes onto the scene at a difficult moment for electric vehicles, an industry that has been battered by President Trump’s policies.
Trump has cut EV incentives for manufacturers and customers, prompting several major automakers to move away from EV efforts and focus on gas-powered options.
A luxury EV effort from Sony and Honda, a high-tech vehicle dubbed Afeela, was shut down before it ever hit the road due to Honda paring back its EV offerings.
Legacy automakers such as Ferrari face a particularly difficult landscape for launching an EV, as die-hard fans are attached to traditional, gas-powered models.
Ferraris are known for roaring engines and bold, angular designs, a far cry from the smooth, rounded exterior of the Luce.
To be sure, aggressive redesigns often attract ridicule. The early electric Mustang models were shunned by some but have become popular.
One X user posted a meme with a photo of fictional Italian gangster Tony Soprano saying, “I don’t want any California bulls—.”
The online launch page for the car emphasizes that the Luce is “100% Ferrari.”
Still, Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s former chairman, told reporters on Tuesday that the automaker is “risking the destruction of a legend.”
Ferrari shares have fallen about 8% since the launch of the Luce, signaling investors’ concerns that the car won’t resonate with customers.
-
Maryland2 minutes agoComfortable and nice weather across Maryland into the weekend
-
Michigan8 minutes agoThe 5 most important recruits officially visiting Michigan Football this summer
-
Massachusetts14 minutes agoHow Hard Health Care Hits MA Family Budgets
-
Minnesota20 minutes agoWildcat Sanctuary: Rio the Ocelot Turns 27
-
Mississippi26 minutes agoSchedule for Gulf Breeze alum Leila Ammon, Mississippi State in WCWS
-
Missouri32 minutes ago
Missouri State’s new alumni center is 100 days from opening doors
-
Montana38 minutes agoA battle over dark money is brewing in Hawaii and Montana
-
Nebraska44 minutes agoNebraska climate officials are keeping an eye on El Niño, and its potential impact on the Midwest