Versant Media, the company spun off from Comcast earlier this year that owns MS NOW, CNBC and USA, reported a 30% drop in second-quarter net income, as it works to bolster its traditional linear television business with new digital and direct-to-consumer ventures. The decline reflects the financial strain of becoming a standalone public company, alongside falling revenue, while executives expressed confidence in the firm's near-term prospects and raised revenue and cash-flow forecasts for the rest of the year.

Net income fell to $211 million from $302 million a year earlier, a drop of $91 million, which the company attributed to lower revenue, public-company costs, interest expense linked to the Comcast separation, and higher tax charges tied mainly to May's sale of SportsEngine. Overall revenue slipped 3.8% to $1.64 billion, with distribution fees down 6.3% amid subscriber losses, though advertising revenue fell just 0.6%, a marked improvement on the prior year's 13% decline thanks to better ratings. Platform revenue, covering direct-to-consumer businesses such as Fandango and GolfNow, rose 0.8%, as Versant continues expanding these units and developing new subscription offerings at CNBC and MS NOW.