Versant, the cable TV-focused spinoff from NBCUniversal that owns CNBC, MS NOW, USA, Golf Channel and other assets, reported its first earnings report as a standalone company Tuesday.
That report highlighted clearly the perils and profits that come with exposure to pay-TV, even as the company itself is focused on transforming its business model over time to be less reliant on the declining legacy business.
Versant reported 2025 revenue of $6.69 billion, down 3.3 percent from 2024. Of that, $4.1 billion came from distribution revenue, and $1.6 billion came from advertising revenue, with $826 million coming from platforms revenue, the only growth area, up 3.9 percent from last year, and $193 million from content licensing.
But the company’s adjusted EBITDA was $2.4 billion, giving it a margin of over 30 percent, even if the EBITDA was down 14.5 percent compared to 2024.
The result is a business that has robust revenues and profits, but is nonetheless exposed to the pay-TV business’ structural decline. To help entice investors, Versant on Tuesday announced a dividend of $0.375 per share, and a $1 billion stock buyback. Versant shares had fallen more than 25 percent since the company completed its spinoff in January, and while the initial dip was expected due to forced selling by stock indexes, the price has appeared to have stabilized since then.
But the company’s plan is to use that cash flow and profit to fund an “evolution” from its pay-TV business model, developing direct-to-consumer offerings and digital business lines.
In news, that will mean MS NOW’s upcoming DTC offering focused on community and exclusive content, with CNBC planning a “next generation” DTC platform tailored toward retail investors.
In sports and genre entertainment, it means expanded rights deals for Golf Channel and USA Sports with partners like the PGA, USGA and WNBA, and plans for a Fandango-branded FAST service.
On the company’s earnings call, CEO Mark Lazarus was asked whether the Warner Bros. Discovery sale process impacted how they thought about Versant’s strategy.
“We have our plan to go as an independent company, we have a strong set of assets, we’re very focused on our vertical markets,” Lazarus said. “The wider view was, it was interesting, because the assets from from Warner Brothers were interesting to a couple of people in a couple of different ways, and we look at that as being reinforcing of the value of our company.”
“The assets that had a tremendous amount of value often were around news and sports,” added CFO Anand Kini, noting that 60 percent of Versant’s audience was in those two verticals. “We think in many ways that process validates the quality of our brands and our portfolio and the strategy that we’re pursuing to kind of continue to drive those businesses which are supremely positioned within the pay TV ecosystem, and it also gives us the opportunity to extend them outside of it.”
With regard to sports, Lazarus also framed the expected NFL rights renewal as an opportunity for the brand, as it may force other media companies to jettison some smaller sports deals.
“We believe that there will be a rebalancing of sports portfolios, and that will leave opportunity for us who have a heritage in sports, who have strong sports properties and legacy to begin with, but we also have broad reach,” he said. “And with USA Network in particular, you know, it’s as broad a reach vehicle as any other cable television asset and or pay television asset, and we believe that there will be opportunity for us to get involved in properties that we might not have otherwise gotten involved.”
“Versant enters this next chapter as an independent, well-positioned media and entertainment company with strong momentum and clear strategic focus,” added Lazarus. “In 2025, we strengthened our leadership in premium programming, expanded our audience, grew our platforms businesses, and successfully established ourselves as a standalone company. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead as we invest in our iconic brands to evolve our business model. We aim to do so with a focus on delivering strong shareholder returns, both in the near and long term.”