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Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
CEO Mark Lazarus called 2025 a “pivotal year” for Versant, owner of CNBC, MS NOW, USA, Oxygen and Golf Channel.
“We completed our transition to a standalone public company while advancing our clear and deliberate strategy, continuing to win with premium content, extending the reach of our iconic brands, and accelerating the growth of our digital platforms,” he said during his earnings call.
He noted that Versant operates in four large and growing markets: business news and personal finance, political news and opinion, golf and athletics participation, and sports and genre entertainment.
Lazarus is bullish because Versant’s brands hold leadership positions with clear opportunities to extend beyond pay TV.
"Versant enters this next phase with meaningful scale, reaching an average of approximately 100 million people every month," said Lazarus. “Our live news, live sports, and premium entertainment programming continue to attract large, engaged audiences and generate robust advertiser demand.”
Versant declared a 0.375 quarterly cash dividend and announced a $1B stock purchase program.
The company’s shares are down 25 percent since they started trading in January. Despite today’s market rout, Versant shares are up four percent to $34.09.
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