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Versant Posts Revenue Decline in Debut Quarter as Standalone Company

Versant Media Group reported first-quarter results Thursday following its January spinoff from Comcast, showing a 1% revenue decline as traditional pay TV continues to face headwinds. Linear distribution revenue fell 7% due to subscriber losses, though rate increases provided partial offset. Advertising revenue declined 5% to $368 million, marking improvement from a 12% drop in the year-ago quarter. Content licensing surged 113.5% to $121 million, driven primarily by the licensing of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and related programming to Disney's Hulu. Versant's portfolio includes CNBC, MS NOW, Golf Channel, USA, E!, Syfy and Oxygen. The company reported viewership gains for CNBC and MS NOW. Pay TV represents more than 80% of revenue, though management aims to rebalance toward 50% from digital and subscription businesses.