By Harshita Mary Varghese
March 3 (Reuters) – Versant Media on Tuesday reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly revenue and disclosed a $1 billion share buyback, in the first results for the CNBC and MS Now owner since it was spun off from Comcast.
Shares of the New York-based company rose nearly 4%.
The results show that Versant’s legacy linear cable business is holding up better than expected, as the industry contends with a steady decline in traditional TV viewership amid a shift toward demand that offers more choice and flexibility than scheduled broadcasts.
Shares have fallen about 20% since their market debut in January, after Comcast halted trading to prevent asset exposure.
“Line TV-based companies like Versant can expect revenue to decline for the foreseeable future,” said Emarketer senior analyst Ross Baines.
The newly formed company also owns brands including USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, digital assets such as Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.
“About 60% of our audience comes from news and sports,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said on a post-earnings call.
Versant plans to develop several direct-to-consumer initiatives, including a CNBC subscription service that is perfect for retail investors.
Fandango, Versant’s movie ticketing platform, is set to launch an ad-supported streaming service later this year that will include movies and TV series from Versant’s content library and free distribution deals.
“Versant did enough to steady nerves, but let’s be clear: it wasn’t a quarter-change … Now comes the hard part – proving that there is a real future beyond milk decline,” said PP forecast analyst Paolo Pescatore.
In the fourth quarter, Versant’s revenue fell nearly 7% to $1.61 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $1.57 billion, according to three analysts polled by LSEG.
Versant’s revenue for 2025 fell 5.3% to $6.69 billion.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)
