Versant’s Q3 Profit Falls More Than 40% as Advertising and Distribution Revenue Decline

Versant Media reported net income of $47 million for the third quarter, down from $80 million a year earlier. Revenue from its non-TV operations rose, led by Fandango, but did not offset declines in advertising and distribution fees.

3 Nov 2026

Versant Media’s third-quarter net income fell more than 40% year over year to $47 million, a decrease of $33 million from the same period a year earlier. The owner of MS NOW, CNBC and USA attributed the drop to lower revenue, public-company costs and interest expense following its separation from Comcast.

Revenue decreased 4.2% to nearly $1.6 billion, compared with $1.67 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Advertising revenue was down 5.3%, while distribution fees fell 5.8%. Revenue from non-TV operations increased 9.6%, with Versant citing higher Fandango revenue driven by movie ticket purchases and sales from its new cinema operating platform.

CEO Mark Lazarus said the company continued to develop businesses intended to diversify its revenue mix. During the quarter, Versant advanced Fandango’s development as an entertainment platform, integrated Full Swing into its golf business and launched MS NOW Membership, according to Lazarus.

Versant reaffirmed its full-year revenue projection of $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion. It also said it expected free cash flow to exceed its earlier estimate, which the company described as a range of $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

Sources: Variety.