In a 200 million USD deal, digital news network Cheddar will become a part of News 12 and i24NEWS, a part of the brands owned by cable company Altice USA. This is further to Altice USA investing in Cheddar in 2017. The deal is expected to close within the next two months.
Cheddar now broadcasts a total of 19 hours of live news through two networks: Cheddar Business and Cheddar News, with the latter brand, caters to a younger audience. The brand was founded by Jon Steinberg in 2016, who will now join Altice USA as the head honcho, and lead Altice News, which will include Cheddar, News 12 and i24NEWS.
The acquisition has been touted as a strategic move to expand Altice USA’s footprint in news. At the moment, the company already includes News 12 Networks, which came with the company’s acquisition of Cablevision, and i24NEWS. This brand launched in the U.S. in 2017. Altice USA will further invest in Cheddar, which the company noted will bring on board a “strong news team” that has garnered an enthusiastic millennial audience. Cheddar’s about 200 employees will also join the Altice team, it has been reported. Even as of now, Altice USA collaborates with Cheddar on tech programming. This content airs on News 12 and top stories that run on i24NEWS. The company intends to offer its advertising products across the Cheddar brand and bring it on board to its a4 advertising platform.
“This is all about the news category – this is live, must watch content. We know that it’s very appealing to audiences and we think we have a unique proposition across all the news segments,” Charlie Stewart, Altice USA co-president and CFO is reported to have told news platform Adweek.
The network is available through several virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu Live and DirectTV Now. It is also available on streaming services such as Pluto and Roku Channel; in addition to thousands of screens in public places through the CheddarU network. This is a collection of 1,600 screens in public places like gyms and cafeterias on hundreds of college campuses. Cheddar also operates RateMyProfessors.com, a website for rating teachers.
