![]() We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Howdy, folks! Adam Chitwood here again, filling in for Roger, who's out today. So let's talk about Versant. The company, which formally separated from Comcast in January and houses domestic cable networks like MS NOW and CNBC, USA Network and the Golf Channel, reported its 2025 earnings on Tuesday, offering a starting point for the company as it aims to pivot away from a reliance on pay TV and expand its existing digital offerings. Profits slid 32% to $930 million and revenue fell 5.3% to $6.7 billion in 2025, deriving financial statements from Comcast's historical accounting. Linear distribution revenue fell 5.4% to $4.1 billion as the company continued to feel the pain from viewers cutting the cord in favor of streaming, while ad revenue declined 8.9% to $1.6 billion. But a bright spot was the platforms segment, which includes Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. Revenues climbed 3.9% to $826 million, led by GolfNow and Fandango. That's particularly noteworthy as Versant looks to expand Fandango, a platform that sells movie tickets but also allows you to rent and buy movies from home, into a free ad-supported streaming offering in the second half of 2026. MS NOW will also launch a direct-to-consumer service this summer, another expansion beyond cable. "We have a clear strategy and the infrastructure, operating discipline and leadership required to win. We enter this next chapter from a position of strength — profitable, scaled and disciplined,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus told analysts on Tuesday. Shares jumped as much as 5.3% in pre-market trading after the earnings release. Not too shabby. Adam Chitwood
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