Versant NASDAQ: VSNT reported third-quarter results that reflected continued declines in its traditional pay-TV business, offset in part by growth in its digital platforms and disciplined expense management. The company reaffirmed its full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook and raised its expectation for free cash flow.
Total third-quarter revenue was $1.59 billion, down 4% from the prior year on a standalone adjusted basis. Adjusted EBITDA fell 7% to $353 million, though cumulative adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2026 increased 1% to $1.68 billion. Free cash flow totaled $302 million during the quarter.
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Anand Kini said Versant expects 2026 revenue of $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 billion to $2.05 billion. The company now expects full-year free cash flow to exceed its prior outlook of $1 billion to $1.2 billion.
Pay-TV declines offset by platforms growth
Linear distribution revenue declined 6% to $935 million, as subscriber losses were partly offset by contractual rate increases. Advertising revenue fell 5% to $373 million, primarily due to a difficult comparison with the 2025 Ryder Cup, which is held every other year. Kini said the advertising environment remained positive, supported by ratings performance and demand from marketers.
Platforms revenue rose 10% to $245 million. Excluding the effects of the SportsEngine divestiture and the Full Swing acquisition, platforms revenue increased 17%. The growth was driven by Fandango ticketing, home-entertainment sales, Fandango1 and GolfNow.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Lazarus said Fandango ticket sales reached their highest level since the pandemic during the quarter. He added that the company’s Fandango advertising-supported video-on-demand service, launched in July, has received an encouraging early response. Versant also launched four FAST channels featuring CNBC, E! and Oxygen content, available through Prime Video and The Roku Channel.
Content licensing and other revenue declined 24% to $41 million, which Kini attributed to the timing of licensing agreements.
Distribution renewals and digital expansion
Lazarus said Versant completed four major distribution renewals during 2026 on favorable terms. According to the CEO, 75% of the company’s network subscribers are now under contract through 2028 and beyond, providing greater visibility for the linear television business.
“While our pay TV business is not a growth engine, it will remain resilient and highly profitable for a very long time,” Lazarus said.
The company is seeking to expand beyond pay television through direct-to-consumer and other digital offerings. Versant recently launched MS NOW’s direct-to-consumer product and plans to introduce a CNBC direct-to-consumer offering early next year. Lazarus described the products as interactive membership services rather than simply streaming versions of the company’s networks.
MS NOW’s direct-to-consumer service is priced at $7.99. Lazarus said the price was established through testing and that the company will continue to evaluate product features and pricing as it gathers consumer feedback. He said Versant is also open to distribution and aggregation arrangements with third parties where those arrangements can help scale its services.
MS NOW was the second-most-watched cable network in the third quarter, with total viewership up 20% year over year, according to Lazarus. He said the network had grown its audience for 11 consecutive months and was the only cable news network to grow in September. CNBC ranked among the top 10 cable networks during market hours for the eighth consecutive month, he added.
Sports and entertainment investments
Versant added Bundesliga rights to its sports portfolio in August. The company has rights to 300 matches per season, with about 30 airing on USA Network and the remainder streaming on Fandango. Lazarus said USA Network’s first month of Bundesliga coverage produced viewership that was 55% higher than last year’s airings on other networks.
The company also aired the most national WNBA games of any broadcaster during the regular season, with cable viewership up 25% from the prior year. Lazarus said Game Seven of the WNBA Finals, which aired on USA Network, drew a preliminary audience of 3.3 million viewers.
During the question-and-answer session, Lazarus said Versant would remain selective in pursuing sports rights. The company has long-term rights agreements including NASCAR and PGA TOUR rights into the 2030s, WWE rights into the late 2020s and Premier League rights through the 2028 season. He said the company was unlikely to pursue NFL rights given the size of the business today, though he called the evolving sports-rights marketplace an opportunity for disciplined buyers.
In entertainment, Lazarus said “Anna Pigeon” became the most-watched new cable original series of the year, while “The Golden Life” recently premiered on E!. He said Versant is pursuing programming with both on-network potential and back-end monetization opportunities, citing an arrangement for “The Golden Life” to become available on Hulu shortly after its E! debut.
Costs, capital returns and Full Swing
Programming and production costs fell 1% to $736 million, as efficiencies in entertainment and news partly offset higher sports-rights costs. Other cost of revenue rose 10% to $142 million, reflecting increased transaction volumes in the platforms business. Selling, general and administrative expense declined 12% to $362 million.
Kini said fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA will be affected by four additional NASCAR races compared with 2025, resulting in higher programming costs. He said this is expected to be a one-time timing impact rather than a recurring change in race counts.
Versant ended the quarter with about $1 billion of cash and an undrawn $750 million revolving credit facility. The company has returned $457 million to shareholders year to date, including $300 million in share repurchases and $157 million in dividends. It also declared a quarterly dividend and plans to begin an additional $100 million accelerated share repurchase program in the fourth quarter.
The company completed its acquisition of Full Swing during the quarter. Lazarus and Kini said the golf technology business was already profitable and is expected to benefit primarily from revenue synergies, including access to Golf Channel marketing, GolfNow’s sales force and relationships with approximately 9,000 golf courses. Versant also announced an expanded partnership between Full Swing and Troon.
About Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT)
Versant, Inc NASDAQ: VSNT is a media and entertainment company formed from selected cable television and digital assets formerly owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal division. The company develops, produces, distributes and markets entertainment, news, sports and lifestyle content across television networks and digital platforms.
Versant's portfolio includes USA Network, E!, SYFY, Oxygen, Golf Channel and related digital properties. Its assets also include Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, which provide movie-ticketing, entertainment information and media-review services.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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