“I think she's got a good balance of really looking at the data and also using gut. This is art and science, and she uses all the tools.” 

— Frances Berwick, chairman, Bravo & Peacock Unscripted, NBCUniversal  

By Mike Demenchuk

Long before Val Boreland knew what she wanted to do for a living, she was training for her future career.
Growing up in New Rochelle, N.Y., Boreland would wait for each week’s edition of TV Guide to arrive in the mail, grab a highlighter and plot out her viewing plans.
“I’ve often said it sounds so nerdy, but now, when I fast-forward, I’m like, that’s what my career became,” she recalled.
As president of entertainment for Versant, spun off from NBCUniversal in January, Boreland oversees content strategy, creative development and production, marketing and content acquisition across a portfolio that includes USA Network, Syfy, Oxygen, E! and Fandango. It’s a challenging time for legacy cable networks, but Boreland said Versant’s properties still draw big audiences and, untethered to Comcast, now have the chance to challenge long-held assumptions.
“I think our reinvention, if we're going to use that word, isn’t just a response to industry change, but it's an opportunity to build something better,” she said. “And I think if we — if all platforms — kind of constantly challenge themselves in that way, we’ll generate good content.”
Content wasn’t Boreland’s entry into the TV business. A communications major at the University of Michigan, she took some production and editing classes in college. Her first job was as a sales assistant at Lifetime Television.
As she learned the ad business, she became familiar with another aspect of TV: programming schedules. Her curiosity about how shows were slotted led to an informational interview in Lifetime’s programming department. She eventually rose to VP of programming.
“It wasn’t just about individual shows, but creating this entire experience,” she said. “People at that time watched the brand.”

Navigating the Digital Shift
After a decade at Lifetime, Boreland jumped to Comedy Central in 2005, just as shows were starting to move to digital platforms and as the network was launching impactful originals such as The Colbert Report and Key & Peele.
“She was really good about thinking of the viewer and the cycle of how a program makes its way from one platform to another and making it make sense,” recalled Michele Ganeless, then president of Comedy Central and now the CEO of charity Comic Relief US.
Boreland stayed for more than seven years before seeking out her next challenge, inspired by colleagues who spoke nostalgically of Comedy Central’s launch. “I thought to myself, ‘I want a back-in-the-day period,’” she said.
In 2012, she joined Revolt, a startup music network backed by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, as executive VP, head of programming and production. “It was a real pivotal move for her because it allowed her to go from what was a research and planning strategic job to a creative role,” said Andy Schuon, Revolt’s co-founder and former president.
Schuon, a longtime MTV Networks executive who was named CEO of the Academy of Country Music in July, recalled Revolt’s seat-of-the-pants launch, with staffers in New York and Los Angeles manually loading videos and spots to stay on-air. “And it was pretty nerve-wracking, but Val never lost her cool,” he recalled.

“She was really good about thinking of the viewer and the cycle of how a program makes its way from one platform to another and making it make sense.”

— Michele Ganeless, former president, Comedy Central  

Feathering Peacock’s Nest
In 2016, Boreland joined NBCUniversal as executive VP, content strategy, Entertainment & Lifestyle Networks. From there, she was tapped to head acquisitions for the not-yet-named Peacock, where she “set the template” for the streamer’s acquisitions strategy, said Frances Berwick, then NBCU’s chairman, entertainment networks.
Paramount Network’s hit Yellowstone was among her key acquisitions, as was The Office, snared away from Netflix; and she obtained the Pay-1 window rights to Universal’s theatrical films.
Now it’s Versant that will reap the benefits of Boreland’s scheduling and programming prowess.
Her role there requires balancing legacy television assets with entrepreneurial flexibility, a combination Berwick said makes Boreland ideal.
“I think she's got a good balance of really looking at the data and also using gut,” said Berwick, now NBCU’s chairman, Bravo & Peacock Unscripted. “This is art and science, and she uses all the tools. She is an excellent communicator, and maybe the most important thing is, she is a really great relationship-builder.”
Boreland’s next move: Getting USA back into the scripted originals game with legal drama The Rainmaker, produced with Blumhouse and Lionsgate.
Beyond the office, she keeps plugged into the industry with her work on the boards of Women in Cable Telecommunications and Comic Relief US. She also spends time with her 10-year-old son, visiting amusement parks, playing video games and traveling.
And she’s still a huge TV fan who combs the listings to plot out what she wants to watch.
”It's harder these days to keep up on it because there's so much of it, but I genuinely am a consumer,” she said. “I enjoy it so much.”