Versant joins US studios’ microdrama gold rush with GammaTime investment

Versant Media Group, the publicly traded media company that was spun off from Comcast in January, has made an undisclosed investment in US-based microdrama platform GammaTime.

Mark Lazarus

The vertical video app and studio, led by founder and CEO Bill Block, on Tuesday announced it had closed a Series A funding round and would collaborate with Versant in various ways.

GammaTime said the capital injection would “fuel global expansion through a premium originals slate developed in-house, with Versant and with top showrunners, drawing on Versant’s content expertise and a selection of their entertainment library alongside reimaginings from its entertainment portfolio.”

The Series A funding round comes around eight months after GammaTime raised US$14m in a seed funding round backed by a group of investors including venture capital firms vgames and Pitango, alongside Alexis Ohanian, Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Traverse Ventures.

Since then, GammaTime has been on a deal blitz, also setting up partnerships with National Enquirer owner MediaCo, COL Group International, Idilio and Content Partners.

With the deal, Versant becomes the latest US studio to enter the space, following Fox Entertainment, Disney, Peacock and BET Networks, among others.

“GammaTime is reimagining shortform storytelling for a new generation of viewers,” said Versant CEO Mark Lazarus.

“Their mobile-first approach and focus on original content make this a natural partnership for Versant as we continue to extend our iconic brands, deep content library and storytelling.”

“Versant’s investment is a turning point for GammaTime and the category,” said Block, who founded the company alongside ex-Google exec Slava Mudrykh and former Quibi exec Alex Montalvo.

“We’re pairing unparalleled audience scale and engagement with premium marketing. We’re building originals at scale, and Versant gives us the IP, brand equity and creative DNA to do it right.”