Cheddar raises $22 million, plans to expand internationally

Business news channel Cheddar has raised $22 million in additional funding and plans to expand internationally, reports Benjamin Mullin of The Wall Street Journal.

Mullin reports, “The funding round, the company’s fourth, was led by Raine Ventures, an early-stage media-and-technology investment firm. Other investors include Liberty Global, Goldman Sachs, Antenna Group, 7 Global Capital, Dentsu Ventures, New York Stock Exchange owner Jeffrey Sprecher and Kelly Loeffler, chief communications and marketing officer of Intercontinental Exchange. Previously, Cheddar raised $32 million in three rounds led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Raine Ventures.

“The company is now valued at $160 million, up from $85 million after the last fundraising round, Mr. Steinberg said.

“Mr. Steinberg, the former president of BuzzFeed, has pitched Cheddar as a disruptor of cable news networks aimed at millennials who are cutting the cord and turning away from traditional news. About 95 percent of the company’s revenue comes from advertising, Mr. Steinberg said, mostly native ad sponsorships from big-ticket advertisers like Fidelity and E-Trade that start at $125,000 per month.

“The company has booked $18 million in revenue for 2018, Mr. Steinberg said, mostly from advertisers who’ve signed six- to 12-month deals. The remaining revenue comes mostly from selling shows to networks and platforms such as Fusion and Spotify. The company finished 2017 with $11.3 million in revenue.”

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