Versant CEO outlines strategy for post-cable era at investor day

Mark Lazarus, chief executive officer of Versant, presented the company’s strategic vision at the company’s inaugural investor day on Dec. 4, emphasizing the firm’s position in live programming and its plans to expand beyond traditional cable distribution.

The company, which operates 11 media brands including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network and digital platforms like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, expects to generate $6.6 billion in revenue, $2.2 billion in EBITDA, and $1.4 billion in free cash flow in fiscal 2025.

Lazarus, who has worked in media for 40 years, described the current moment as both challenging and opportune.

“This is a company with a mandate to build beyond cable, in fact, beyond media,” he said. “We are ready to transform and positioning ourselves to win.”

The company’s content attracted 14.4 billion viewing hours last year, with reach extending to half the U.S. population monthly. Its digital platforms processed 140 million transactions, including tee times, movie tickets, and video rentals and purchases.

Four market approach

Versant is organizing its strategy around four sectors: business news and personal finance, political news and opinion, golf and athletic participation and sports and genre entertainment.

In business news, CNBC serves a market Lazarus valued at more than $20 billion.

The network holds the top position in business media globally and operates the primary digital site for business news, according to the presentation. The number of retail investors has grown 40% since 2019 to 107 million people.

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MS NOW targets political news consumers, a group that has expanded 35% since 2019 to 75 million people.

The network ranked second across all cable networks for seven consecutive years and third in 2025 through the presentation date. It also operates as the top digital site for political news and was the most-watched news brand on YouTube in 2024.

The company’s golf holdings serve a $45 billion market with 59 million fans, up 37% in two years. Versant captures 40% of golf viewing hours and provides services to golfers and courses through its GolfNow platform.

In sports and entertainment, the company competes in a $200 billion market with 700 billion hours watched annually.

Its portfolio includes USA Network, along with Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, and specialty channels Syfy and Oxygen.

Live programming emphasis

Live content accounts for 62% of Versant’s audience, concentrated in sports and news. This compares to live programming representing more than one-third of total TV viewing industrywide, up from one-quarter several years earlier.

“Live TV is hard. We produce a lot of it,” Lazarus said. “It’s what the audiences are looking for. We do it really well, not that many people do.”

The company holds long-term agreements with the PGA Tour, NASCAR, Premier League and WWE. It has expanded into women’s sports including golf, volleyball, and the WNBA. The portfolio also includes Olympic coverage, with upcoming broadcasts from Milan and Los Angeles in 2028, along with college sports programming.

Recent additions include an extended USGA partnership and a new Pac-12 agreement.

Lazarus noted that Versant’s 62% live programming mix exceeds the percentages at Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney. The company’s scale in time spent and addressable homes approaches that of major streaming services, according to the presentation.

“Most of our live events spanning news, sports and entertainment are exclusive to our platforms and can’t be found anywhere else,” Lazarus said.

Growth strategy

The company outlined a three-part approach.

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First, it will maintain its television content business while leveraging its brands. Second, it plans to expand audience reach beyond pay TV through new distribution channels, podcasts, live events and transactional offerings. Third, it will scale digital platforms including GolfNow and Fandango while developing new services.

Lazarus acknowledged that the brands operated under different priorities previously, with investment in brand-building not prioritized.

“They were under-resourced, but that won’t be the case anymore,” he said. “Now we will invest back into the business.”

The company operates with a management team that Lazarus said brings deep industry understanding and vision for audience growth. 

“If audiences care, we are there,” Lazarus said. “Which means that right now for millions of people, the country’s most devoted audiences, not to mention our advertisers and our distributors, Versant is indispensable.”