Versant Media Group, A portfolio of cable TV networks and digital assets separated by comcastIt joined a small group of public media companies on Monday as the industry reckons with continued disruption.
Versant began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VSNT” and opened at $45.17 per share.
The company’s so-called outstanding shares (securities that are scheduled to be issued and conditionally allowed to trade to give investors an early chance to buy shares) originally opened at $55 per share on Dec. 15 and closed on Friday at $46.65 per share.
As of Monday’s close, Versant stock had fallen to $40.57 per share, down 13% on the day.
The company’s market capitalization is approximately $6.5 billion, and the number of outstanding shares based on the spin-off ratio is 145.76 million. As part of the spinoff, Comcast shareholders received one Versant share for every 25 Comcast shares they owned.
“It’s been a year in the making,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday.
In November 2024, Comcast announced its intention to separate most of NBCUniversal’s cable TV networks, including MS Now (formerly MSNBC), CNBC, Golf Channel, USA, E!, Syfy, and Oxygen, and its digital properties Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, and Sports Engine.
“As part of Comcast and NBCU, we had other priorities as a company,” Lazarus said. “We made a different decision because we were a different company and had a different strategy. Now we are bringing these (assets) into their own company and will be able to invest in them. We will invest organically… and we hope the market will listen to us.”
Lazarus said “vertical scale” is needed to diversify the business away from reliance on pay TV.
“It’s still an important part of our profitability, but it’s not the end goal,” he said.
Few traditional media companies have gone public in recent years. This is because the industry faces major challenges due to the shift from TV bundles to streaming.
In 2025, newsmaxWhen the conservative cable news network listed on the New York Stock Exchange, its stock price quickly soared from its opening price of $14 per share. It has fallen sharply since its debut.
Instead, the media sector is witnessing a rush of consolidation and new M&A deals. paramount skydance completed its merger last year, and CEO David Ellison has been making acquisitions since then. warner bros discoveryitself established after a merger in 2022, began a sale process last year, resulting in Netflix. Paramount then made a hostile proposal to WBD shareholders to overturn the proposed deal with Netflix.
Versant CEO Mark Lazarus visits the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 21, 2025 in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
The Versant spin-off was similarly the result of a disruptive media environment. Company executives, led by CEO Lazarus, a former media group chairman at NBCUniversal, spent the final months of 2025 convincing Wall Street investors that the company’s future would be focused on increasing its portfolio’s digital presence.
The company also emphasizes its strength in news and sports, two categories of programming that still command large television viewers. Although networks like those in Versant’s portfolio have suffered financially, they are still profitable and attract advertising dollars.
On Monday, Lazarus again pointed to Versant’s weight in sports and news, saying 62% of its portfolio is in those two content areas.
“We’re in a really strong position,” Lazarus said.
In September, Versant reported that its revenue has declined in recent years as consumers move away from cable TV bundles.
Versant’s assets generated $7.1 billion in revenue in 2024, down from $7.4 billion in 2023 and $7.8 billion in 2022, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the listing. The company said net income attributable to Versant was $1.4 billion in 2024, down from $1.5 billion in 2023 and $1.8 billion in 2022.
Shortly after, rating agencies S&P Global and Fitch Ratings each issued a BB credit rating indicating a stable outlook for the company’s debt, placing the company’s rating in junk territory. This is based on Versant’s plan to issue $2.75 billion in new senior secured notes and add $500 million to its balance sheet to fund a $2.25 billion cash distribution to Comcast, S&P said.
Versant’s low debt levels bode well for the company for both rating agencies and are a highlight of its pitch to Wall Street investors. Media companies such as Warner Bros. Discovery are grappling with massive debt while also battling declining cable TV subscribers and declining advertising revenue.
Both rating agencies noted that the traditional TV environment faces headwinds, which S&P said “offsets the strength of[Versant’s]portfolio,” noting that revenue from linear distribution and advertising from the company’s networks accounts for more than 80% of total revenue.
Fitch said Versant’s “strong viewer loyalty and engagement” with its television network and conservative debt structure bode well for the company.
Versant executives said in a recent investor presentation that the company intends to grow its digital business through acquisitions and investments.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this article.
Disclosure: Versant is the parent company of CNBC.
