Versant, the newly independent media company that owns a portfolio of prominent cable networks including CNBC, USA, E!, Syfy, Oxygen, Golf Channel and MS Now, reported its first-quarter financial results for 2026 on Thursday. The company, which began trading on the Nasdaq in early January following its separation from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, recorded revenue of $1.69 billion. That figure represented a modest 1 percent decline from the same period a year earlier but exceeded Wall Street expectations of $1.62 billion.
The results reflect the challenges and opportunities facing traditional media companies as they navigate declining linear television viewership while investing in digital platforms and content licensing. More than 80 percent of Versant’s revenue still comes from its pay television business, though the company has set a long-term goal of rebalancing the portfolio so that half of revenue comes from digital, platform, subscription, advertising-supported and transactional sources.
Cable TV distribution revenue, which comes primarily from fees paid by cable and satellite providers, fell about 7 percent to $1.01 billion. The decline stemmed largely from continued subscriber losses in the traditional pay TV ecosystem, although higher rates negotiated with distributors helped to partially offset the impact.
Advertising revenue decreased 5 percent to $368 million. While still down year over year, the drop marked an improvement compared to the 12 percent decline recorded in the first quarter of the previous year. The company pointed to stronger viewership in several of its networks, particularly for live events, sports programming on the Golf Channel, and business news on CNBC.
One bright spot came from content licensing, where revenue surged 113.5 percent to $121 million. Much of the growth was driven by licensing deals involving popular reality programming, including the Keeping Up with the Kardashians franchise and related series, which were made available on streaming platforms such as Hulu.
The company’s platforms segment, which includes businesses like Fandango, GolfNow and various direct-to-consumer offerings, delivered revenue of $192 million, an increase of 9.5 percent from the prior-year quarter. This growth underscores Versant’s efforts to expand its presence beyond traditional cable distribution.
This all comes as Varesant is trying to shift away from relying on revenue from cable TV subscribers, which currently makes up the majority of its revenue. Varesant hopes that going forward, services like Fandango and GolfNow, among others, can make up 50% of its revenue, but currently, subscription services like that make up less than 15% of its total revenue. CEO Mark Lazarus said at Investor Day back in December 2025: “If you take a quick look at our 2024 revenue mix, 83% of our revenue came from our network businesses… Over the next few years, we’re going to evolve each of these business models to be more balanced, and every strategic decision we are making is with that goal in mind.”
On the bottom line, net income attributable to Versant fell 22 percent to $286 million, or $1.99 per share. The decrease resulted from the lower revenue, increased costs associated with operating as a standalone public company, and higher interest expenses following the spin-off. These factors were partially offset by lower tax expenses. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined 7 percent to $704 million. On a standalone basis adjusted for the pre-spin portfolio structure, however, adjusted EBITDA rose approximately 5 percent thanks to reduced programming expenses in entertainment and lower selling, general and administrative costs.
In addition to its operating results, Versant highlighted its commitment to returning capital to shareholders. The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 37.5 cents per share, payable on July 22 to shareholders of record as of July 1. This marked the company’s second consecutive quarterly dividend since becoming independent. Versant also announced plans for a $100 million accelerated share repurchase program expected to begin on May 15 and conclude during the second quarter. During the first quarter itself, the company repurchased nearly 2.7 million shares of its Class A common stock, leaving roughly $900 million in remaining authorization under its broader buyback program as of the end of March.
As Versant completes its first full quarter as a standalone entity, the company continues to focus on extending the reach of its well-known brands, strengthening connections with audiences through both linear and digital channels, and scaling its platform businesses. While it did not provide specific financial guidance for the remainder of the year, the first-quarter performance demonstrated resilience in certain growth areas despite ongoing pressure in the core linear television segment. Investors will likely watch closely to see how the company executes on its strategy of diversifying revenue streams in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
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