Versant’s 2025 profit fell, citing revenue declines in advertising and distribution
Newly listed Versant’s net profit fell 31% in 2025 as the company saw a decline in advertising and distribution revenue, underscoring the NBCUniversal spinoff’s new mission to grow revenue not tied to traditional cable TV.
Versant on Tuesday unveiled its operating performance through 2025 — the first official disclosure of corporate results — using data from its time as part of NBCU. The company, built on MS NOW, CNBC, USA and other former NBCU properties, aims to create a mix of revenue that is half from traditional pay-TV operations and half from new businesses that require direct connections to consumers, such as subscriptions or commerce. Revenue from such operations amounted to 19% of the company’s revenue in 2025.
“Versant enters this next chapter as an independent, well-positioned media and entertainment company
with strong momentum and a clear strategic focus,” said Mark Lazarus, CEO of Versant, in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead as we invest in our iconic brands to evolve our business model. We aim to do this with a focus on delivering strong shareholder returns, both in the short and long term.”
The company said its 2025 revenue was nearly $6.69 billion, down 5.3% from the $7.06 billion it brought in in 2024. Advertising revenue for the year fell 8.9% to nearly $1.58 billion, a mark of comparison with 2024, which featured a presidential election cycle, while distribution revenue fell about 5.4% to $4.09 billion. Revenue from the company’s digital properties, including Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango, rose 3.9% to $826 million.
While rivals with large cable portfolios struggle with similar dynamics, Versant has struggled to portray its levels of stability. The company said that most of its sports rights deals still have years left in them, and that it is working to increase its revenue stream with an ad-supported streaming platform launched under the Fandango brand, which is perhaps best known for facilitating the purchase of movie tickets.
Versant also said Tuesday that its board of directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of outstanding Class A common stock.
