Telecom giant Altice is in the early stages of offloading its streaming financial news outlet Cheddar to a private equity firm, according to a report.
On Monday, CNBC said Altice was holding discussions with California-based Regent LP to acquire the streaming channel in a deal that would see no cash exchanged. Instead, Altice would continue to operate Cheddar, then sell it based on future performance, with the selling price targeted as high as $50 million, CNBC said.
Cheddar was formed in early 2016 by former BuzzFeed executive Jon Steinberg. He sold the company to Altice in 2020 for around $200 million.
At its peak, Cheddar offered two streaming channels — one focused on news, the other on finance — with several hours of live broadcasts from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and separate studios in New York City. Clips of its broadcasts were repurposed for third-party marketing and streaming platforms, including fuel pump screens by way of Gas Station TV.
Cheddar has seen significant decline over the past few years, with the channel lowering its live broadcast output to just two to three hours per day. Meanwhile, Altice — one of the largest cable providers in the country — has looked to sell off certain non-core assets as consumers shift from traditional cable television services toward cheaper streaming options.
The CNBC article on Monday added to one published over the summer by the New York Times, which first reported Altice was weighing a possible sale of Cheddar. The New York Times said Altice had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to “help explore strategic alternatives for Cheddar News,” including a potential sale.
