As PR professionals, we work to stay up-to-date on the latest media trends to best promote our clients and help them reach their target audiences.
It’s easier said than done. Nontraditional players are getting into the news game (think Facebook), a record number of mega media deals are being done and several newspapers, including the Washington Post and New York Times, have had a steady stream of layoffs and buyouts.
Besides economic reasons, the media industry is responding to the rapid change in technology, enabling people access to the news they want, when and where they want it.
Cheddar, which hit the scene in February 2016, is one media company that embodies this shift. Calling itself “The Leading Post Cable Network,” Cheddar is a live-streaming, on-demand video news network solely focused on reaching business-minded millennials. The network even explicitly states that they’re specifically targeting 20-something and 30-something-year-olds “who want live news made for them.”
In addition to Cheddar’s unique format – the network broadcasts live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange – it’s available through the latest technology platforms, offering live, on-demand streaming on smart phones and smart TVs via channels such as Amazon, Sling, Pluto, and Xumo.
The company also announced in July a new partnership with local TV stations dubbed “Cheddar Local” in the hopes of becoming, in their words, a “news and technology business bureau.” The initiative gives Cheddar exposure to the large audiences that local news stations in many markets still capture while offering local stations a way to reach new, younger viewers. Cheddar is even moving beyond media to create additional revenue streams to capture more millennials and solidify their brand, recently launching an MBA program with Strayer University that offers virtual courses on digital entrepreneurship.
After raising $19 million in its third round of funding and adding AT&T and Amazon as strategic investors, it’s clear that Cheddar is on the path to becoming a permanent fixture of the media landscape.
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RH Strategic is a Seattle and D.C.-based communications firm providing strategic public relations for innovators in the technology, public sector and healthcare markets.
