Cheddar (TV channel)

Cheddar, Inc.
Industry Media
Genre Business & finance
Founded January 2016 (2016-01)
Founder Jon Steinberg[1]
Headquarters New York City, New York, US
Number of locations
 6 (2017)
Area served
 US
Key people
Services streaming media
Revenue $11.3 million[3] (2017[3])
Owners
Number of employees
 130[3]
Divisions ChedNet
Cheddar
Launched April 2017 (2017-04)
Affiliates Affiliates
Availability
IPTV
Apple TV, Pluto
Streaming media
Sling TV, YouTube TV, Facebook Live, Amazon Prime Video, Twitter, Vimeo, Philo
Cheddar Big News
Launched April 2018 (2018-04)
Streaming media
Sling TV, YouTube TV, Philo
Website cheddar.com

Cheddar is a live streaming financial news network founded by Jon Steinberg in the United States. Cheddar broadcasts live daily from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the Flatiron Building in New York City, and the White House lawn and briefing room in Washington, D.C.[2] covering new products, technologies, and services.

Cheddar targets millennials by streaming one to two hours of live content from the NYSE trading floor daily, streaming live audio on iHeartRadio, and distributing the videos on video platforms such as Amazon Prime, the Cheddar app, Facebook live, Sling TV, and YouTube.[4]

According to Steinberg, Cheddar received 148 million views in August 2017 across all of its platforms.[5] On Facebook, 60 percent of Cheddar's viewers are under the age of 35.[4] Accordingly, the daily live shows have been described as "quasi-CNBC for millennials".[6]

Reportage focuses on stocks and technology. The channel is ad-free; expected revenue comes from carriage agreements with streaming services.[6] Advertising comprises either program underwriting or semi-weekly brand integration. Brand integration advertising costs $100,000 per year.[7]

Cheddar has two feeds, a paid-for and a free version. The pay feed broadcasts eight hours of programming a day, six of them live, and is available via Amazon Prime, Sling TV, YouTubeTV, and the Cheddar app. The free feed broadcasts three hours of new content daily and archived content is available through Facebook and over the air via its affiliated stations.[8] On April 2017, the channel had 100,000 viewers.[1]

History

Formation

Jon Steinberg, former president of Buzzfeed and former CEO of Daily Mail, conceived of the concept after leaving Daily Mail in 2015.[4] He considered naming the channel company "Ticker" until Bustle's founder, Bryan Goldberg, came up with the name Cheddar.[9]

Steinberg founded Cheddar in early 2016 and hired Peter Gorenstein, a senior producer at Yahoo!, as the channel's chief content officer in January 2016. In September 2017, Cheddar hired Anjali Kumar, former Warby Parker executive and Google lawyer, as its first general counsel and chief people officer.[5]

In the company's first financing round in January 2016, it raised nearly $3 million, primarily from Snapchat and Lightspeed's Jeremy Liew, and additional funds from WGI Group, Homebrew, Jerry Speyer, and David Fiszel.[6]

Operating

Cheddar began streaming in April 2016[1] then on April 11 on Facebook Live[4] with one hour of programming at 9:30 am.[9] Cheddar initially streamed all videos for free, but in May 2016, the company launched a subscription video-on-demand service. Smaller clips continue to be released, but full-length videos are exclusive to subscribers.[10]

Cheddar raised $10 million in funding on September 6, 2016, all of which was an equity deal from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, and Ribbit Capital.[10][11] Cheddar used the money to increase programming and set up a new studio in Santa Monica, California, becoming the company's fifth studio.[12][13]

The channel teamed with Bustle to launch its afternoon Extra Sharp show on May 18, 2016.[9] Melissa Rosenthal, a former BuzzFeed executive, was hired in May 2016 as creative development and partnership executive. Five half-hour shows ("Wheels" - automobiles, Points on Point - smart spending, Your Future Home - real estate, Your Cheddar - personal finance, and Cheddar Trading - roundtable discussion on trading) were developed by November 2016, when they were going to shop them to find underwriting.[7] In September 2016, Twitter made a deal with Cheddar to broadcast its daily coverage, with the stated purpose of giving the Twitter community another way to watch and discuss the news live on one platform.[12]

In January 2017, Vanity Fair's Hive business news and Condé Nast Entertainment partnered with Cheddar to create a live weekly series called VF Hive on Cheddar. Graydon Cartern, a Vanity Fair editor, called the series a "representation of how people are consuming more voraciously than ever."[14]

In March 2017, Propagate Content partnered with Cheddar to produce a weekly 45-minute show for international markets. Propagate also became Cheddar's international sales representative.[15]

On August 5, 2017, Cheddar opened its second New York studio at the Flatiron Building, in Manhattan. At the time, the channel had 100,000 viewers. The Flatiron studio was built for its Cheddar Life series.[1]

In April 2017, Cheddar started broadcasting on digital UHF stations in five markets and rents the broadcast spectrum from DTV America. Dunkin’ Donuts, a Cheddar advertiser, was handing out free digital antennas at events in the stations' markets, to publicize the over the air launch.[8]

In May 2017, Cheddar announced $19 million in its third round of financing, which was led by Raine Ventures along with investors: AT&T, Amazon, Altice USA, NYSE, Lorne Michael's Broadway Video, and some existing investors. To date, the company has raised $32.1 million and has a valuation of $85 million.[13] Cheddar also hired Ross Cooperman, former head of engineering at Knowme Systems, as its chief technology officer.[2]

In June 2017, Cheddar partnered with Univision's Fusion Media Group to air on their Fusion TV cable television every weekday afternoon for two hours. The programming will be available for cable users on DISH, DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon Fios, and Charter Communications.[16][17][18] Cheddar reports it is on 60 percent of smart TVs throughout the US.[19]

In July 2017, Cheddar partnered with Seeking Alpha to produce an "Idea of the Month" segment.[20] The partnership was extended in early 2018.[21] KXTV started airing segments from Cheddar during its morning and afternoon news programming as a test for a planned rollout in the Tegna TV station group. On July 27, the channel was added to the Haystack TV news aggregator app, which is on mobile and OTT platforms.[22]

In September 2017, Cheddar announced its deal with Layer3 TV, an IP-based MVPD,[23] and plans to open a broadcast studio in the UK by 2018.[5]

In January 2017, Cheddar launched a 24 hour linear feed on Twitch, the gaming and video platform owned by Amazon.[24][25] On March 15, 2018, Cheddar announced its new TV show called Crypto Craze about cryptocurrency, which is a thirty-minute show focusing on cryptocurrency trading.[26][27]

In April 2018, Cheddar announced its plan to air its live linear network on Hulu. The move comes after Cheddar's deal to bring its news channels to YouTube TV and a month after launching its Snapchat channel.[28][29][30]

In June 2018, Cheddar added another distribution outlet via a carriage deal with virtual MVPD fuboTV, an OTT TV service focused on sports programming.[31][32]

Multichannel company

In March 2018, the company announced its plan to expand internationally and launch two channels, Cheddar Big News (CBN) and a channel on Snapchat Discover after securing its fourth investment round, raising $22 million. The funding round was led by Raine Ventures along with Liberty Global, Goldman Sachs, Antenna Group, 7 Global Capital, Dentsu Ventures, Jeffrey Sprecher, and Kelly Loeffler. As of this investment round, the company is valued at $160 million. Big Cheddar News is a general news streaming channel which launched on April 17th.[33] The Snapchat Discover channel, also targeted for a April debut, is to be a general and business news channel.[3]

In May 2018, Cheddar acquired Viacom's MTV Networks on Campus to show its latest channel CheddarU, which will stream content from it's flagship financial-news streaming service and segments from Cheddar Big News to 9 million students on more than 600 campuses. Universities that qualify, can receive the CheddarU service for free. CheddarU is part of the ChedNet division of Cheddar, which focuses on installing more screens and broadcasting its service in gyms, hotels, airport lounges, restaurants, bars, among others.[34][35]

Channels

  • Cheddar (April 2016[1]—present) financial news
  • Cheddar Big News (April 2018—present) general news
  • Cheddar on Snapchat (April 2018—present) financial and general news on Snapchat Discover[3]
  • CheddarU (May 2018—present) started with the purchased of MTV Networks on Campus and is part of the new CedNet

Programs

  • Cheddar Life - a series featuring business and technology news while adding in lifestyle news (health, wellness, and fashion)[1]
  • Closing Bell - a two hour show[4]
  • Extra Sharp (May 18-November 2016; suspended)[9] – series produced in cooperation with Bustle, and based on its app, with initial shows hosted by Bustle Editor-In-Chief Kate Ward and contributor Erika Turner on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange[9]
  • VF Hive on Cheddar (February 19, 2017–present) - streams on Facebook Live of Cheddar and Vanity Fair, Cheddar linear channel and Condé Nast Entertainment digital channel[14]
  • Crypto Craze (March 2017-present) cryptocurrency coverage[26]

Affiliates

The subchannels are rented from the affiliates.[8]

City of license/market Station channel[36] Primary
affiliation
(on main channel)		 Owner
(Management Company)		 Date of affiliation[8]
Cleveland-AkronWQDI-LD20.2Estrella TV DTV America April 2017
JacksonvilleWRCZ-LD35.5Country Network
Kansas CityKCMN-LD42.5Decades
Sacramento-Stockton-ModestoKFMS-LD47.3Altavision
Orlando-Daytona BeachWFEF-LD50.2Comet
TulsaKUOC-LD48.5Shop LC

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henry, Zoë (August 5, 2017). "Why a Former BuzzFeed Exec Launched Cheddar, a News Streaming Service for Millennials". Inc.com. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Spangler, Todd (May 17, 2017). "Financial-News Startup Cheddar Raises $19 Million From Amazon, AT&T, NYSE, Broadway Video and Others". Variety. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cheddar, the 'CNBC for Millennials,' Raises $22 Million for International Expansion". Wall Street Journal. March 19, 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Pierce, David (March 30, 2017). "Inside Cheddar, the Would-Be CNBC of the Internet". Wired. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Heath, Alex (September 11, 2017). "Cheddar, the CNBC for millennials, just made a key hire and plans to launch in Europe next year". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Shontell, Alyson (February 19, 2016). "Former BuzzFeed president Jon Steinberg launches Cheddar, a CNBC for millennials, with $3 million in funding". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 Barr, Jeremy (November 15, 2016). "Millennial-Focused Video Network Cheddar Looking for Brands to Sponsor Shows". Ad Age. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Gerry (April 18, 2017). "Photographer: Getty Images Cheddar, Web Video Maker, Bets Millennials Will Use TV Antennas". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Barr, Jeremy (May 18, 2016). "Bustle Gets a 30-Minute Show on Jon Steinberg's Cheddar". Ad Age. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Ramachandran, Shalini (May 8, 2016). "Cheddar, the 'CNBC for Millennials,' Goes Behind a Paywall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "Cheddar Company Profile". Owler. Owler. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  12. 1 2 Jarvey, Natalie (June 26, 2017). "Cheddar Expands Into Entertainment Coverage With L.A. Studio". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  13. 1 2 Guaglione, Sara (January 9, 2017). "'Vanity Fair,' Cheddar Partner For Weekly Live Series". Media Post. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Kashty, Meagan (March 20, 2017). "Propagate partners with Cheddar". RealScreen. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  15. ↑ Huddleston, Tom (June 5, 2017). "Cheddar Is Coming to Cable TV in Deal With Fusion". Fusion. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Elkin, Tobi (June 5, 2017). "Cheddar's Live Programming Goes To Fusion TV". MediaPost. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  17. ↑ Kantrowitz, Alex (June 4, 2017). "Cheddar, The "Post-Cable Network," Is Coming To Cable TV". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  18. ↑ LeFebvre, Rob (July 10, 2017). "Cheddar is the new home of crowd-controlled StockStream". Engadget. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "Finding Opportunity In Small-Cap Stocks - Singular Research's Robert Maltbie's Idea Of The Month". Seeking Alpha. July 13, 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Victor Derguno (February 14, 2018). "Tesla Firing On All Cylinders - Victor Dergunov's Idea Of The Month". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Marszalek, Diana (July 27, 2017). "Cheddar Expanding OTT Reach via Haystack TV". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  22. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (September 29, 2017). "Layer3 TV to Add Cheddar to Lineup". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  23. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (January 8, 2018). "CES 2018: Twitch Tunes in Cheddar Channel". Multichannel News. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  24. ↑ Weprin, Alex (January 8, 2018). "Cheddar To Get Feed On Amazon's Twitch Platform". Media Post. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  25. 1 2 Buntinx, JP (March 19, 2018). "Cheddar TV Announces New Weekly Cryptocurrency-Themed Show". The Merkle. The Merkle. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  26. ↑ Redman, Jamie (March 16, 2018). "Post-Cable Network Cheddar Launches TV Show 'Crypto Craze". Bitcoin. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  27. ↑ Burch, Sean (April 19, 2018). "Cheddar TV Inks Distribution Deal With Hulu". The Wrap. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  28. ↑ Petersen, Eric; Chmielewski, Dawn (April 19, 2018). "Cheddar Comes To Hulu With Live Linear Network & More". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  29. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (April 19, 2018). "Cheddar to Join Hulu Lineup". Multichannel News. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  30. ↑ Fletcher, Bevin (June 18, 2018). "Cheddar Expands Reach with fuboTV Carriage Deal". CED Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  31. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (June 18, 2018). "Cheddar Nets Carriage on fuboTV". Multichannel. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  32. ↑ Daniel Schneider, Schneider (17 April 2018). "YouTube TV Launches Cheddar and Cheddar Big News – Cheddar". Cheddar. Cheddar. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  33. ↑ Fletcher, Bevin (June 1, 2018). "Cheddar Acquires MTV Networks on Campus from Viacom". CED Magazine. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  34. ↑ Bouma, Luke (May 31, 2018). "Viacom is selling MTV Campus Networks to Cheddar". Cord Cutters. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  35. ↑ "Stations for Network - Cheddar TV". RabbitEars. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
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