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Versant strikes multiyear media deal with League One Volleyball
LOVB Austin middle blocker Molly McCage (5) spikes the ball past LOVB Houston outside hitter Jess Mruzik (5) during the League One Volleyball match between LOVB Austin and LOVB Houston February 19,, 2025, at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.
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Comcast spinoff Versant has struck a multiyear media rights deal with League One Volleyball, the company announced Tuesday.
Versant’s USA Network will exclusively air the league’s “Match of the Week” in primetime at 8 p.m. ET every Wednesday, in addition to the league’s playoff and championship matches. The deal comes as women’s sports, specifically volleyball, have seen a major uptick in popularity.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ESPN also holds broadcast rights to LOVB.
“It’s really about the growth that we feel is ahead for them as a league and for volleyball as a sport,” said Matt Hong, Versant’s president of sports. “We saw a common vision, how we could lend our assets and that would complement what they are doing to grow their sport.”
The LOVB deal marks the second sports rights deal for Versant, which is expected to spin off from Comcast in 2026. In August, Versant and NBCUniversal announced a six-year deal with the United States Golf Association. That deal is worth about $95 million annually, according to people familiar with the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity about nonpublic terms.
Hong said the company began negotiating with LOVB just a couple of months ago. The deal adds to Versant’s existing women’s sports rights, which includes more than 500 hours of LPGA coverage annually and future media rights with the WNBA beginning in 2026.
For LOVB, the deal means millions of more eyeballs in the coveted primetime timeslot.
“Versant’s commitment ensures that women’s volleyball has the platform it deserves — consistent, national primetime coverage that reflects the caliber of our athletes and the passion of our fans,” Raquel Braun, chief media officer for LOVB, said in a statement.
Volleyball at nearly every level has been on a major rally. Overall, court volleyball participation was up 6.7% in 2024, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. At the high-school level, more than 479,000 girls participated in volleyball during the 2023-24 season, marking an all-time high, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
College volleyball is also spiking. The 2024 Women’s NCAA Volleyball Tournament was the most-consumed ever for ESPN, with more than 1.3 billion minutes watched across its platforms, according to the network. The audience for the entirety of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament was 41% higher year over year, ESPN said. And, when the Nebraska Huskers’ women’s team took on the Omaha Mavericks in 2023, more than 92,000 fans were in attendance, the largest-ever crowd for a women’s sports event.
LOVB, which features both youth and a professional league, got its start in 2020. The professional league, which features a group of players with a combined 23 gold medals, kicked off its inaugural season in January.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.
Heineken has announced a substantial investment exceeding £44 million into hundreds of its pubs across the UK, a move expected to create approximately 850 jobs.
The Dutch brewing giant’s Star Pubs operation, which manages 2,350 sites nationwide, is undertaking this significant financial commitment despite a challenging period for the pub sector.
The industry has faced considerable pressure over the past year, grappling with escalating labour costs and increases in national insurance contributions.
Concurrently, consumer spending has been constrained by concerns over inflation and rising unemployment, further impacting pub revenues. However, pubs did receive additional business rates support from the government last month, aimed at alleviating some of these financial burdens.
Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Star Pubs, indicated that the investment strategy is partly designed to bolster revenues and help the group navigate the recent “sustained increases in running costs”.
This year, £44.5 million will be allocated to upgrades for 647 pubs. A notable 108 of these venues are earmarked for particularly significant cash injections, with each transformation costing at least £145,000.
Heineken clarified that while the majority of its pubs are group-owned, they are independently operated by local licensees. A key focus for this investment, particularly in the lead-up to the 2026 football World Cup, will be on sports-focused venues.
The pub firm and brewer has a history of significant investment in British pubs, having pumped £328 million into the sector since 2018. Work has already commenced at 52 locations, including eight projects dedicated to reopening boarded-up pubs that have endured lengthy closures.
Mr Mountstevens also urged the government to reduce the tax burden on pubs, arguing it would ease cost pressures and foster further job creation within the industry.
He stated: “We can only do so much; the root-and-branch reform of business rates that the industry has been calling for over many years is urgently required, as well as a lowering of the burden of taxation on pubs, including VAT and beer duty.”
He concluded with a direct appeal: “We are calling on the Government to support us in bringing out the best in the Great British pub.”
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