MS NOW's Rebranding Strategy: A Double-Edged Sword
The US's largest liberal-leaning network, MS NOW, has seen a surge in viewers since its rebranding from MSNBC, according to its CEO, Mark Lazarus. This positive trend, however, comes with a catch. While the network's viewership has doubled since the rebrand in the fourth quarter, the company's overall revenue has taken a hit.
The company, Versant, which includes MS NOW, CNBC, the Golf Channel, and USA Network, has faced industry-wide pressures from cord-cutting. This has led to a 5.4% decline in revenue from cable TV subscriptions from 2024 to 2025. Despite this, the company's CEO remains optimistic about the future, citing the network's strong engagement and the importance of news and sports programming.
The network's most dedicated viewers watch an impressive eight to nine hours per week, which is the second-highest engagement across the entire TV landscape. This dedication has helped MS NOW attract large, engaged audiences and generate robust advertiser demand.
However, the company's financial report for 2025 reveals a net income attributable to Versant of $930 million, a 5.3% decrease from the previous year. The largest decline was in advertising revenue, which dropped from $1.73 billion in 2024 to $1.58 billion in 2025. This trend is expected to continue in the short term, with revenue for the last three months of 2025 also down 6.5% from the final quarter of 2024.
Despite these challenges, Versant's CEO is confident in the company's strategy. He emphasizes the importance of news and sports programming, which generates 60% of television viewership, and is pleased with the early returns. For 2026, the company is optimistic about generating revenue of between $6.15 billion and $6.4 billion, thanks to advertising tied to midterm elections and a direct-to-consumer MS NOW service.
The CEO also addressed the pending merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which, like NBCUniversal, was originally slated to spin off its cable TV assets. He assured investors that Versant's strategy remains unchanged, and the company is well-positioned to go forward as an independent entity with a strong set of assets.
