Versant Media Group raised its full-year guidance for 2026 on the strength of its digital platforms segment and advertising performance. The company now projects total revenue between $6.2 billion and $6.45 billion, with adjusted EBITDA ranging from $1.9 billion to $2.05 billion. The guidance increase came after the company’s second-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings metrics, sending shares up more than 6% on the trading day.
Linear television revenue declined 6.3% during the second quarter to $954 million, reflecting subscriber losses across channels including CNBC, USA Network, Syfy, Oxygen and E!. However, advertising revenue proved more resilient, declining just 0.6% to $423 million, an improvement compared with the prior-year period driven by stronger ratings for the company’s news and sports-focused networks. The platforms segment, which includes Fandango and GolfNow, posted 0.8% growth to $225 million, or 9.3% growth when excluding a prior divestiture.
Versant, which was separated from NBCUniversal at the start of the year and began trading publicly in January, continues working to diversify its revenue base away from traditional pay television. Executives aim to achieve a 50-50 revenue split between linear TV and other businesses including digital, subscription, and advertising-supported offerings, though more than 80% of current revenue still derives from pay TV. The company recently completed acquisitions of golf simulation company Full Swing and closed deals for new carriage agreements with major distribution partners in the United States and Canada.
Overall second-quarter revenue declined 3.8% year-over-year to $1.64 billion, while net income fell 30% to $211 million, or $1.49 per share. The company attributed the net income decline to lower revenue, public company expenses, interest costs related to the separation, and elevated tax expenses. Despite the challenges in linear television, Versant declared a quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents per share for the third consecutive quarter and executed a $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement, with plans to initiate another similar agreement in August.
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