Altice USA, the owner of Cheddar News, announced on Thursday that it has sold the financial news streaming service to Archetype, a media company owned by private equity firm Regent LP.
It had earlier reported speculation about a potential sale of Cheddar to Regent. Archetype manages several media brands, including Sunset Magazine and Military Times.
In a statement, Archetype said, “Cheddar has helped transform the way millennials access television news since its groundbreaking debut broadcast from an iPhone in 2016.
We are excited to help Cheddar expand its reach as the definitive independent ‘Voice of What’s Next,’ empowering new audiences to be informed and engaged citizens in an ever-changing world.”
The terms of the deal have not been officially revealed, but a source familiar with the transaction told that it is structured as an “earn out” arrangement.
Under this structure, Altice USA will receive future payments if Cheddar achieves certain performance milestones. These payments could potentially reach about $50 million, based on internal projections.
Cheddar, which was founded in 2016 by Jon Steinberg, was acquired by Altice USA in 2019 for $200 million.
Keith Bowen, president of news, advertising, and programming for Altice USA, commented, “We are incredibly proud of what Cheddar News has accomplished within the Altice USA portfolio, growing its distribution to reach new viewers with fresh and exciting need-to-know news content.”
