Altice USA has announced plans to acquire the digital first news company Cheddar for $200 million.
The millennial-skewing Cheddar is available in 40 million homes through over-the-top carriers that include YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu Live, DIRECTV NOW, Pluto and Roku. Significantly, Cheddar’s networks have recently won carriage on traditional cable networks Comcast, Charter and Altice USA.
Altice now plans to combine Cheddar with its established news operations, News 12 and i24NEWS, under the leadership of Cheddar Founder and CEO Jon Steinberg.
“Cheddar has demonstrated an innovative approach to live news while building an engaged audience, solid followership and a strong brand,” said Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei. “As one of Cheddar’s early investors, we have enjoyed our partnership with Jon and admire the entrepreneurial spirit, energy and smart disruptive mentality that he brings to the news business.
Cheddar currently broadcasts 19 hours a day of live news through two networks: Cheddar Business, a business news network covering the executives, founders, products, and technologies; and Cheddar News, a fast-paced, general news and headline news network.
“Our goal is to make Altice News a leader in local, business, national, and international news everywhere as we look to build a live news offering for customers in the traditional pay TV ecosystem, as well as those looking to a la carte alternative SVOD services, vMVPDs, and free systems for their non-news entertainment,” said Steinberg.
The transaction is expected to complete in the next two months, following regulatory approval.
