Cheddar Expanding OTT Reach via Haystack TV

Cheddar, the millennial-oriented business channel, is expanding its over-the-top reach with a Thursday launch on Haystack TV.

Cheddar, which broadcasts live from the New York Stock Exchange floor, will be accessible on Haystack across mobile and OTT platforms—Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV among them, the companies said.

Haystack offers users personalized newscasts by aggregating content based on their interests and preferences. The app distributes content from local, national and digital news organizations.

The Haystack debut comes on the heels of news Wednesday that KXTV, Tegna’s ABC affiliate in Sacramento, Calif., would be airing Cheddar segments in its morning and afternoon newscasts—which could be a model for eventual rollout across the group.

Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg, the former president of BuzzFeed, in 2016 launched Cheddar, billed as a “post cable network” for millennials with an interest in business. Unlike other new media brands, however, Cheddar has focused on nabbing viewers on linear TV as well as on digital.

(Photo via Dan Nelson's Flickr. Image taken on June, 24, 2015 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 3x4 aspect ratio.)