Newly minted Versant Media saw profit and revenue dip in first set of financials reported as if it had separated from Comcast for the full year. CEO Mark Lazarus announced new plans for a standalone MS Now streaming product, a CNBC subscription service and a free Fandango AVOD service.
The shares popped more than 5% in early trading.
The cable programmer formally split from the Philadelphia media giant in early January but began operating independently last year, laying out out an original content strategy at an investor meeting in December. That included the MS Now (formerly MSNBC) product and several transactions strengthening Fandango and FAST. While anchored in pay TV, that business continues to slow and Versant is focused on diversifying with no plans to acquire more cable.
It’s goal initially is to move to 50-50 split with pay TV balanced by higher-growth digital, platform, subscription, AVOD and transactional businesses
The numbers: net income fall 32% last year to $930 million on a 5.4% dip in revenue to about $7 billion in 2025.
Revenue breakdown saw linear distribution down 5.4% to about $4.1 billion; advertising off 9% at $1.6 billion; platforms up 3.9% at $826 million led by Golf Now and Fandango; and content licensing and other off 8.5% to $193 million. CNBC and USA are its other core brands.
Adjusted EBITDA of $2.42 billion was down 14%. Versant ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $1.09 billion and $983 million in long term debt
The board declared a $0.375 quarterly dividend and authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program
“Versant enters this next chapter as an independent, well-positioned media and entertainment company with strong momentum and clear strategic focus. In 2025, we strengthened our leadership in premium programming, expanded our audience, grew our platforms businesses, and successfully established ourselves as a standalone company,” said Lazarus.
More to come