Business video network Cheddar plans to launch a second channel focused on national and world news next year, part of its expansion plans in 2018 and beyond as the company looks to grow its $11 million annual business, reports Sahil Patel of Digiday.
Patel writes, “The new channel, which will be called Cheddar Big News, will be modeled after CNN’s Headline News in that it will focus on the biggest news stories of the day but done in the ‘style and sentiment of local news,’ said Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg. This means in addition to covering the latest news about the U.S. president and other major current events, Cheddar Big News will also include weather and coverage of any ‘moose that might be on the loose,’ Steinberg said.
“‘We’re going to tell you what Trump did, but we’re not going to have a panel debate about it for five hours,’ Steinberg said. ‘We want to do news that tells you all of the stuff that you need to know, but then also offers a bit of a relief from the news.’
“The plan is to launch Cheddar Big News by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Steinberg said he’s still in conversations about potential carriage deals for Cheddar Big News, which could include some form of limited-run exclusivity with a distribution partner. Once live, Cheddar Big News will broadcast between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily, with reruns and other prepackaged shows filling the remaining time.”
Read more here.
