Versant Media wants to sweat the short stuff.
The media company, which owns MS NOW and CNBC and was spun off from NBCUniversal earlier this year, has taken part in a Series A funding round that will establish a partnership with GammaTime, a microdrama streaming platform. Under terms of the agreement, GammaTime will work with Versant to develop a slate of originals with top showrunners and also utilize content from part of the company’s entertainment library.
“Versant’s investment is a turning point for GammaTime and the category,” said Bill Block, founder and CEO of GammaTime. “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.” Block, who got his start in the entertainment business as an agent at ICM, is a former president of Artisan Entertainment and former CEO of Miramax.
Versant will become a minority, non-controlling investor in the company.
Microdramas are growing in importance to the media sector, with advertisers ranging from Procter & Gamble to JCPenney growing more interested in the quick-hit format. Several companies have begun to supply bite-sized dramas and serials for venues like TikTok or Meta’s Reels. In China, the content capsules have already proven quite popular. Microdramas could generate as much as $11 billion in 2026, according to estimates from Omdia, a London consultancy.
