Cheddar raises $22M Series D and is now valued at $160M, plans to expand to UK and build a second news network as it abandons its paid subscription model
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal :
Context & Ripple Effects
Cheddar's arc runs from Jon Steinberg's 2016 launch out of BuzzFeed through a $10M Series B led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with Comcast Ventures and Ribbit Capital aboard. Its monetization bet was a premium $6.99/month tier powered by Vimeo — the very model this round abandons.
The company had already tested international waters without charging for distribution, launching its channel in Europe via French startup Molotov under a no-licensing-fee deal. Raising $22M at a $160M valuation while dropping subscriptions signals investors are backing reach over recurring revenue — a bet vindicated when Altice USA later agreed to acquire Cheddar for $200M.
First-order effects
- Cheddar's existing subscribers lose the paid tier as the company pivots to an ad-supported model, while backers Lightspeed, Comcast Ventures, and Ribbit Capital mark up their stakes at the new $160M valuation.
- The new capital funds two concrete bets: a UK expansion building on the Molotov-led European beachhead, and a second news network alongside the flagship.
Second-order effects
- Established business-news incumbents in the CNBC mold now face a free, millennial-targeted rival whose growth is funded by venture money rather than subscriber revenue, pressuring their paywall economics.
- Dropping subscriptions makes Cheddar's value hinge on distribution deals — the Molotov template suggests future partners get the channel free in exchange for reach, shifting bargaining power toward platforms that control audiences.
Third-order effects
- The pattern — launch a niche streaming news product, monetize by subscription, then abandon paywalls to scale audience and sell to a cable operator — points to streaming news consolidating into the hands of traditional distributors rather than staying independent.
- If free, venture-funded scale proves the reliable exit path, expect subsequent digital news startups to treat subscriptions as a stepping stone rather than an endpoint, weakening the direct-to-consumer payment model across the category.
The trend: Streaming news startups are trading subscription revenue for venture-funded audience scale, positioning themselves as acquisition targets for legacy distributors.