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Streaming News Network Cheddar Acquired By Cable Provider Altice USA For $200M, Mobile Launch Planned

Streaming News Network Cheddar Acquired By Cable Provider Altice USA For $200M, Mobile Launch Planned

Cheddar

Altice USA, one of the largest-but-relatively-unknown cable companies in the U.S., acquired financial news streaming network Cheddar for $200 million — a sign that Altice may be entering the streaming wars, Axios reported.

Cheddar CEO and founder Jon Steinberg built his company’s distribution to 40 million pay-TV homes with content aimed at millennials. His new job title will be president of Altice News.

Altice USA is in “heavy testing” for a mobile service launch that company executives said is on track to happen this summer, according to RCR Wireless

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Altice was an early investor in Cheddar, which launched in 2016. Cheddar had an innovative approach to live news and built an engaged audience, solid followers and a strong brand, Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei said in a press release.

Cheddar broadcast live on SlingTV, Hulu Live, YouTube TV, Philo, Twitter, Facebook Watch, Pluto, Xumo and more.

Altice USA today reported losing 15,000 video subscribers in its
fourth-quarter earnings. That was an improvement on the 25,000 the company lost in the year-ago quarter, FierceVideo reported. Altice USA’s consolidated revenue grew 4 percent in the fourth quarter to reach $2.45 billion. In 2018, Altice Cablevision had 4.12 million broadband internet subscribers.

The goal of the acquisition is to make Altice News a leader in local, business, national, and international news, building a live news offering for customers in the traditional pay-TV ecosystem, Steinberg said in a prepared statement.

Based in New York City, Altice does business as Optimum and Suddenlink. The company went public in 2017, raising $2.2 billion in its initial public offering.