Versant Média Group, the portfolio of cable television networks and digital assets created by Comcastjoined the small cohort of public media companies on Monday as the industry faces continued disruption.
Versant began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “VSNT,” opening at $45.17 per share.
The company’s so-called “when-issued” stock — a security expected to be issued and which has been conditionally allowed to trade to give investors an early chance to buy shares — initially began trading Dec. 15 at $55 per share and ended trading Friday at $46.65 per share.
By mid-morning Monday, Versant’s stock was down to around $40 per share, down 14% for the day.
The company’s market capitalization is approximately $6.5 billion, with an outstanding share count of 145.76 million based on spin-off ratio. As part of the split, Comcast shareholders received one Versant share for every 25 Comcast shares they owned.
“It took a year,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
In November 2024, Comcast announced plans to spin off the bulk of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks, including MS Now (formerly MSNBC), CNBC, Golf Channel, USA, E!, Syfy and Oxygen, as well as 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 different decisions, because we had a different business and a different strategy. Now we are bringing them [assets] in their own business, we will be able to invest in them. We will invest organically…and I hope the market will listen to what we say. »
Lazarus said “vertical scale” is needed to diversify the business and free it from its reliance on pay TV.
“While this remains an important and profitable part for us, it will not be the end game,” he said.
Few traditional media companies have gone public in recent years, partly due to the significant challenges the industry has faced from the move away from the TV package in favor of streaming.
In 2025, Newsmaxthe conservative cable news network, went public on the New York Stock Exchange and quickly saw its shares soar from its opening price of $14 per share. It has fallen precipitously since its debut.
Instead, the media industry has been marked by a rush toward consolidation and new M&A deals. Paramount Skydance completed its merger last year, and since then, CEO David Ellison has been aggressive. Discovery of Warner Bros.itself created following a merger in 2022, launched a sales process last year which resulted in a proposed agreement with Netflix. Paramount has since made a hostile offer to WBD shareholders to cancel the proposed deal with Netflix.
Mark Lazarus, CEO of Versant, visits the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, United States on July 21, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The Versant spinoff was also the result of a disruptive media landscape. Its executives, led by CEO Lazarus, former chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, spent the final months of 2025 convincing Wall Street investors that the company’s future would be focused on growing its portfolio’s digital presence.
The company also highlighted its strength in news and sports, the two programming categories that still attract the majority of viewers. Even as networks like those in Versant’s portfolio experience declining financial results, they remain profitable and attract advertising dollars.
On Monday, Lazarus once again highlighted Versant’s weight in sports and news, saying 62% of the portfolio was in those two content areas.
“We have a really strong position,” Lazarus said.
In September, Versant reported a decline in revenue over the past few years as consumers ditched the cable TV package.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of its IPO, Versant’s assets generated $7.1 billion in revenue in 2024, up from $7.4 billion in 2023 and $7.8 billion in 2022. The company said its net income attributable to Versant was $1.4 billion in 2024, up from $1.5 billion in 2023 and $1.8 billion. dollars in 2022.
Shortly thereafter, rating agencies S&P Global and Fitch Ratings each issued BB credit ratings on the company’s debt, noting a stable outlook, placing the company’s rating in junk territory. That was based on Versant’s plans to issue $2.75 billion in new senior secured debt to finance a one-time $2.25 billion cash distribution to Comcast and add $500 million to its balance sheet, according to S&P.
Versant’s low debt levels bode well for the company with both rating agencies and were a highlight of its pitch to Wall Street investors. Media peers like Warner Bros. Discovery are struggling with heavy debt while dealing with declining cable TV subscribers and falling advertising revenue.
Both rating agencies noted the headwinds facing the traditional TV landscape, which S&P said “offset the strength of [Versant’s] portfolio”, noting that revenues from linear distribution and advertising from its networks represented more than 80% of total turnover.
Fitch said “strong viewer loyalty and engagement” with Versant’s television networks, as well as its conservative debt structure, bodes well for the company.
Versant executives said during a recent investor day 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.