Versant Media said its third-quarter profit fell as its reliance on traditional media assets forced it to make do with cash declines from both advertising and distribution, even as the company acquired new direct-to-consumer operations and launched digital businesses tied to its linear properties.
The owner of MS NOW, CNBC and USA said net income fell more than 40% to $47 million in the period, down from $80 million in the previous period to $33 million. Versant cited lower revenue, public company costs and interest expenses following its separation from Comcast.
Revenue fell 4.2% to approximately $1.6 billion compared to $1.67 billion in the previous quarter. Versant said advertising revenue fell 5.3% in the period, while distribution fees fell 5.8%. However, revenue from non-TV operations increased by 9.6%. Versant noted higher revenue from movie ticket purchases and sales from Fandango’s new movie theater operating platform.
Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said the company will continue to make progress in new business areas that diversify its revenue mix. “Evolution of Fandango in the third quarter
comprehensive entertainment platform integrated Full Swing into our golf ecosystem and launched MS
NOW Membership to connect directly with our audience,” said Lazarus, “We are building deeper consumer relationships, expanding our reach, and creating new opportunities for growth and monetization across our four core markets.”
Versant reaffirmed its year-end forecast of $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion and said it expects free cash flow for the period to exceed the previous forecast of $1. billion to $1.2 billion.