Unlike Fox News, MS NOW Is “Not Seeing Any Viewer Fatigue,” Parent Company CEO Mark Lazarus Says

In the wake of comments Monday by Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch about viewer “fatigue” hampering Fox News, MS NOW parent Versant Media’s chief exec, Mark Lazarus, was asked about trends at his network. “We’re not seeing currently not seeing any fatigue with our audiences,” Lazarus said during the company’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday. “ Our audiences are active and vibrant and growing for MS NOW, and for that matter, with CNBC. I think it’s a testament to the quality of our product, to the voices that we have on there, and to the trust that our viewers have in our brands and our talent.” Alluding to Election Day, Lazarus continued, “Today’s the Super Bowl for the news organization, in terms of the midterm elections. And we believe that we will continue to grow audiences for MS NOW. That’s our singular goal. How do we get more people to watch us? And that’s gonna be by having a variety of voices there, having a tone that’s welcoming and being interesting and informative. I think that our producers and our talent are doing that. So we’re not seeing any of that viewer fatigue, and in fact, I think some of the viewership is leaving other places and trying us, and spending some more time with us, because I think they’re seeing the value in what we’re providing.” Watch on Deadline The comments came after Versant posted better-than-expected results for the third quarter. Revenue drifted down 4% from year-ago levels to settle at $1.59 billion but that still topped the consensus forecast of Wall Street analysts. Earnings per share of 34 cents also beat estimates. Versant, whose assets include a string of former NBCUniversal cable networks as well as digital properties like Fandango, spun off from Comcast last January. MS NOW recently launched a stand-alone streaming service priced at $7.99 a month. Lazarus said execs are “confident” in their ability to run a profitable streaming business, but stressed that it’s “early” in the “multi-year” process of rolling it out. The linear feed of the network “will only be a part of what the value for our fans and customers will be,” Lazarus said. “We’re going to build community, we’re going to have a lot of exclusive content, insights from our talent and other experts, information, access will be important.” MS NOW ranked as the second-most-watched cable network during the quarter, Versant said, with viewership growing by double digits as coverage of midterm elections ramped up. September marked the 11th straight month of audience growth, and MS NOW was the No. 1 news organization on YouTube during the quarter and also generated more than 105 million podcast downloads year to date. Lazarus also noted that key carriage deals have been set, ensuring that 75% of Versant’s video subscriber base is under contract into 2028 and beyond. “We understood the questions raised at the time of the spin about our ability to secure attractive carriage renewals,” the exec said. “We’ve now answered that question. … So we have clear visibility going forward.” Over the longer term, Versant expects to derive a majority of its revenue from non-linear TV sources, but for now the traditional cable business is a key financial engine. Advertising revenue dipped 5% in the quarter compared with year-ago levels, the company reported, due to comparisons to golf’s Ryder Cup in the prior year.