Versant Media said profit in its first fiscal quarter fell due to erosion at its TV operations and higher corporate costs tied to its recent spin-off from NBCUniversal, even as some of its direct-to-consumer businesses showed strength and buoyed its efforts to diversify revenue beyond traditional media assets, The New York owner of MS NOW , CNBC and other cable businesses said net income fell $81 million, to $286 million, or $1.99 per share, compared with $367 million, or $2.55 a share in the year-earlier period. The company cited lower revenue, higher public company costs and interest expense following its separation from NBCU parent Comcast earlier this year. Revenue, however, slipped just 1.1%, to nearly $1.69 billion, as Versant grappled with subscriber losses at its networks. Versant’s ad revenue came to $368 million, down 5% from the year-earlier period, when it faced a 12% decline in ad sales. Distribution fees, meanwhile, fell 7.3%, to about $1 billion.…