Twitter Blends Finance-News Startup Cheddar Into Live-Streaming Mix
Twitter has cut a deal with Cheddar, the digital financial-news network geared toward younger audiences founded by ex-BuzzFeed exec Jon Steinberg, to live-stream Cheddar’s daily dispatches from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Starting sometime in October, Cheddar plans broadcast two live shows on Twitter each weekday: “Opening Bell” coverage from 9-10:30 am Eastern, and “Closing Bell” programming from 3-4 p.m. ET. Twitter will be the exclusive, free video platform for “Closing Bell.”
“Partnering with Cheddar will give people on Twitter another way to watch and discuss the day’s top stories as they unfold live all on one platform,” Twitter CFO Anthony Noto said in announcing the deal.
The deal is Twitter’s latest move to bring live sports and news video content to its platform. In July, Twitter inked a deal with Bloomberg Media, under which the social service is streaming three Bloomberg shows and the cabler’s markets coverage. And this week, it kicks off its live-streaming NFL deal for “Thursday Night Football” games starting Sept. 15.
The news comes after New York-based Cheddar last week announced $10 million in funding from investors including Comcast Ventures. The subscription-video service costs $6.99 per month to watch the full lineup of programming.
Cheddar’s “Opening Bell” is broadcast daily from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange and is hosted by Steinberg and Kristen Scholer. The show features the breaking news of the day, markets and business coverage, interviews with CEOs and startup founders, and profiles of leading new technology, media and culture ventures. The “Closing Bell” show is anchored from the NASDAQ MarketSite and the New York Stock Exchange, hosted by Kristen Scholer and Krysia Lenzo.
Cheddar’s executive team includes chief content officer Peter Gorenstein, previously a senior executive producer for Yahoo video; COO Eric Harris, formerly BuzzFeed chief business operations officer; and Melissa Rosenthal, senior VP of creative development and partnerships (previously BuzzFeed VP of creative services).
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