Online news network Cheddar has announced “Cheddar Sports,” a new show dedicated to the latest news and events in the world of esports. Through a continued partnership with Twitch, the show will stream live on Cheddar’s Twitch channel every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Cheddar’s Founder and CEO Jon Steinberg will anchor Cheddar Sports on Oct. 27 during TwitchCon 2018, when the esports show will livestream interviews and stories from an on-site location. TwitchCon is a three-day event hosted by Twitch and this year will be held at the San Jose Convention Center. The event celebrates the Twitch gaming community and was attended by about 50,000 people in 2017.
“Cheddar Sports on Twitch is a live interactive show shot from Cheddar’s studio on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Hollywood bureau, and on location around the world,” according to an official press release. “The show will feature anchors from Cheddar and esports guests who will be touching upon the latest esports news and events, while interacting with the viewers in chat for a live shared experience.”
The Cheddar Twitch channel launched this past January and has already amassed close to 3 million views, according to the press release. Cheddar’s other existing programming is centered around business news and the tech industry, with shows airing live every weekday until 5 p.m. ET. (The first edition of Cheddar Sports, scheduled for Sept. 27, was postponed this week.)
“Twitch has been a fantastic partner for the last year, and we are deepening our collaboration by now focusing on Cheddar Sports and broadcasting live from TwitchCon 2018,” Steinberg said in the press release. “With a loyal fanbase with a keen interest in esports, we’ve already seen that Cheddar Sports is wildly popular on Twitch. We’re going to do more so tune in to see the stars, competition highlights, and the latest on gear and technology.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Cheddar’s decision to brand this show “Cheddar Sports” despite appearing to solely cover the esports landscape, and to focus on esports in its first foray into the sports programming space is interesting. Perhaps this type of branding could eventually help esports cement their place more firmly within sports, and not as a similar but separate classification.