RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesVersant Media Group raised its full-year guidance on Thursday, boosted by momentum in its digital brands like Fandango and GolfNow, as well as what executives referred to as "strength" in its overall business model.
The company now expects total revenue for 2026 of $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.9 billion to $2.05 billion.
This marks Versant's third earnings report since it was spun out from Comcast's NBCUniversal at the start of the year. The company, which includes a portfolio of pay TV networks including CNBC, MS Now and The Golf Channel began trading as a public company in January.
Versant's earnings once again showcased that live sports and news grab the most viewers and advertising dollars for traditional TV, despite ongoing pressure on the bundle as it loses customers to streaming alternatives.
The company beat Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines.
Here's how Versant performed for its second quarter, ended June 30, compared to Wall Street's estimates, according to LSEG:
Revenue for linear TV, which also includes channels USA Network, Syfy, Oxygen and E!, was down 6.3% during the quarter to $954 million, due to subscriber declines.
CEO Mark Lazarus said in a release on Thursday the company completed carriage agreements "with two large distribution partners, one in the U.S. and one in Canada." Many of Versant's distribution deals were locked up when it was still under NBCUniversal's ownership.
Versant executives have said they aim to diversify the company's revenue base — with an eye toward achieving a revenue mix of 50% from its digital, platform, subscription, ad supported and transactional businesses. The aim is to be less reliant on the linear TV model. Currently more than 80% of Versant's revenue stems from the pay TV business.
Versant leadership has also said it would explore acquisitions of nontraditional media businesses to broaden its revenue streams and add growth.
This week the company closed its acquisition of golf simulation company Full Swing. Versant already owns digital media platform GolfPass and tee-time reservation company GolfNow. Earlier this year Versant bought StockStory, an AI-powered tech platform that provides financial analysis, market insights and stock recommendations for CNBC.
Advertising revenue for the quarter was down 0.6% to $423 million, an improvement compared to the rate of decline during the same period last year due to higher ratings for its networks, which are heavily centered on news and sports.
Revenue for the platforms segment — which includes Fandango and GolfNow — was up 0.8% to $225 million for the quarter. Excluding the company's divestiture of SportsEngine, platforms revenue was up 9.3%.
The company attributed that increase in part to higher revenue at Fandango from movie ticket purchases and video on demand transactions, as well as higher bookings, payments and subscription revenue for GolfNow.
Versant has launched a free, ad-supported Fandango streaming platform in a bid to increase its advertising and users for the platform. Versant's USA Sports also recently announced a media rights deal with German soccer league Bundesliga, which brings live matches to USA Network and Fandango beginning in August.
Overall, Versant revenue declined 3.8% year over year to $1.64 billion.
Net income attributable to Versant declined 30% to $211 million, or $1.49 per share, from $302 million, or $2.09 per share a year earlier. The company attributed that decline to lower revenue, public company costs, interest expense related to the Comcast separation and an increased tax expense largely due to the divestiture of SportsEngine.
Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.9% to $624 million. However, when compared with stand-alone adjusted EBITDA, a metric to more directly compare performance of the pre-spin portfolio companies to current results, adjusted EBITDA was up 3% year over year. Versant said the increase reflected lower programming expenses and reduced costs that offset revenue declines.
The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend for the third quarter in a row, again at 37.5 cents a share. The latest dividend is payable on Oct. 22 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Oct. 1.
Versant said it completed a previously announced $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement. The company repurchased nearly 2.4 million shares of class A common stock with a remaining authorization of roughly $800 million as of June 30.
The company said it plans to enter into a similar stock repurchase agreement on Aug. 7 to repurchase $100 million of class A stock, which it anticipates will close during the third quarter.
Disclosure: Versant Media Group is the parent company of CNBC.
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