Cheddar, the leading, live, Post-Cable Network, today announced a $19 million round of financing led by Raine Ventures. A host of strategic investors also participated, including AT&T, Amazon, Altice USA, the New York Stock Exchange, and Broadway Video Ventures. All existing investors (Lightspeed Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, and Ribbit Capital) also participated in the round.
Gordon Rubenstein, Managing Partner of Raine Ventures, has joined Cheddar’s board of directors. Eric Harris, Chief Operating Officer of Cheddar, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer. Cheddar Chief Content Officer Peter Gorenstein has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Melissa Rosenthal has been promoted to Executive Vice President. Ross Cooperman has been hired as the company’s first Chief Technology Officer.
“Cheddar has quickly established itself as a transformational, next generation multi-media company and we are excited to partner with Jon Steinberg and this talented team to catalyze their next stage of global growth,” said Mr. Rubenstein.
“We are pleased to bring together leading influencers in business with innovators like Cheddar on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange,” said New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley.
“Raine is the leading private media investor. Amazon is one of the best in premium streaming video content. As the center of global capital markets, the New York Stock Exchange helps us deliver newsmakers and has been a key collaborator from day one. AT&T brings the world’s leading expertise in national distribution, technology, and programming. Altice USA is a hungry disruptor in the technology, content, and telecommunications space with scale and entrepreneurial hustle that will help us innovate and grow in the vital northeast region and internationally. We are going to collaborate creatively with Broadway Video Ventures. Media is a business of collaboration and partnerships. We’re privileged to bring these varied and quality folks into our family,” said Jon Steinberg, Founder and CEO of Cheddar.
Cheddar has dramatically increased its distribution since launch a year ago, currently reaching an audience of over 1 million live viewers daily on Twitter, Sling TV, Amazon, Cheddar apps, five operated HD broadcast stations, Pluto TV, Vimeo, and Facebook.
According to a recent study conducted by Market Strategies International (MSI), a provider of audience measurement services to leading cable networks, Cheddar viewership has already climbed to 8% among U.S. millennials (12% among 18–24 year olds) after just one year of broadcasting. The average live Millennial Cheddar viewer watched 8.4 hours of live Cheddar programming in the past month, with 62% tuning in to a live broadcast weekly. It is also notable that Cheddar viewers are characterized by a high degree of affluence based on both household income and net worth (30% of the audience having net worth in excess of $500,000). Moving forward, MSI will be conducting recurring audience measurement on behalf of Cheddar.
Cheddar has continued to break news via recent interviews with business and political leaders including: CEO of WPP Sir Martin Sorrell, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, President of Goldman Sachs David Solomon, Ford CEO Mark Fields, Drybar founder Alli Webb, Senator Bob Casey, CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves, Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck, will.i.am, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, and 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia.
The company recently broadcast the Snap and Yext IPOs live and in live 360 degrees. It has also interviewed executives from a wide range of startups, including Atlassian, DraftKings, Juicero, HelloFresh, Lyft, and Evernote.
The company broadcasts live 8 hours a day from: the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the corner of the Flatiron Building in the Sprint Store, the White House lawn and briefing room, and remote locations throughout the world. In Q3, the company will begin broadcasting from Los Angeles.
Cheddar is the place for brands to reach young people interested in business, finance, technology and innovation with live video programming. The company has launched integrated Native 3.0 marketing programs and sponsored shows with Fidelity Investments, HP, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Ally, and an MBA program with Strayer University.
About Cheddar
Cheddar is the leading, live Post-Cable Network focused on covering the most innovative products, technologies, and services transforming our lives. The network covers this news through the lens of the companies and executives driving these changes. Cheddar broadcasts from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange and its street level studio in the glass corner of the Sprint Store in the Flatiron Building. It is available on Sling TV, Amazon, Twitter, 60% of smart tvs in the U.S., Facebook and Vimeo.
The company was founded by Jon Steinberg, President and Chief Operating Officer of BuzzFeed from 2010 to 2014. Its investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Amazon, AT&T, Ribbit Capital, The New York Stock Exchange, Raine Ventures, Altice USA, and Homebrew.
About The Raine Group
The Raine Group is a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media, and telecommunications. Raine has in excess of $2.5 billion in assets under management. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and Shanghai. With a global reach, Raine focuses on investment and advisory opportunities where its deep industry experience and unique network of strategic relationships can create value for portfolio companies and clients. For more information visit http://www.raine.com/.
