Comcast completes Versant spinoff with IPO

Shares of Versant began trending on the Nasdaq Jan. 5, 2025, completing Comcast’s goal of spinning off most of its linear cable and select digital properties into a separate corporate entity.

“Today marks a defining moment as Versant becomes an independent, publicly traded media company,” said Mark Lazarus, the CEO of Versant, in a statement. “As a standalone company, we enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model.”

Versant is using the ticker symbol VSNT.

The spinoff was completed through a pro rata distribution of 100% of the outstanding shares of Versant Class A and Class B common stock to holders of Comcast Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, at a ratio of one share of Versant common stock for every 25 shares of Comcast common stock held as of the Dec. 16, 2025, record date, with the distribution completed after the close of trading on Jan. 2, 2026, according to the company’s announcement.

The strategy meant the “previous close” price of VSNT was listed as $46.65. 

VSNT shares dipped almost immediately when the market opened Jan. 5, but gained back some value shortly after, topping out at around $41.87 just before 10 a.m. eastern. It then spent time wobbling around the $40 to $41 mark, along with brief drops below $40 throughout the morning. As of mid-afternoon remained off about 13% to 14% from its open.

Many financial news websites are displaying VSNT as belonging to “Andersen Group InVersant Media Group Inc,” which appears to be a reference to a financial advisory firm. 

It was not immediately clear why the company name is being listed incorrectly, though Andersen did complete an IPO in December 2025 under ANDG.

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Versant television portfolio is anchored by a collection of major U.S. cable networks that were previously part of NBCUniversal.

MSNBC announces new name, drops peacock from logo

These include USA Network, CNBC and CNBC World, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), E!, Syfy, Oxygen and Golf Channel. 

Golf Channel unveils updated logo design — and it will look familiar to many

Ahead of the spinoff, Golf Channel and CNBC both introduced new logos, while MSNBC introduced an updated logo to reflect its new name. All three updates involved removing the NBC peacock icon from each brand.

CNBC’s new logo points to future while integrating into current design

On the digital side, Versant controls or holds major stakes in several well-known platforms and services.

These include Fandango Media, which encompasses movie ticketing and entertainment commerce, as well as Rotten Tomatoes, the popular film and TV review aggregator.

Its golf-focused digital businesses include GolfNow, a tee-time booking service, and GolfPass, alongside related golf content studios. Versant also owns SportsEngine, a platform used for youth sports management, registration and team operations.

From November 2024 to May 2025, Comcast had not settled on a name for the new venture and it was often referred to as “SpinCo” both internally and in the media.

Comcast cable spinoff referred to as SpinCo officially named: Versant

The name Versant was officially announced, along with a logo design, in May 2025.

The Versant spinoff is notable for being one of the first to split linear cable networks, which are widely seen as shrinking businesses, from other assets such as film studios and streamers.

Warner Bros. Discovery, which was formed after AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery merged in April 2022, announced similar plans in June 2025. 

Netflix eventually emerged as the winner of a reportedly fierce bidding war for WBD’s film and streaming properties, though Paramount Skydance has made multiple other efforts to wedge out Netflix.

The Netflix deal, should it go through, is expected to complete in mid-2026.

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