Image Courtesy of Chuck E. Cheese
May 21, 2025
Will Chuck E. Cheese Successfully Break Into the Retail Media Network Space?
Chuck E. Cheese (owned by CEC Entertainment) is in the midst of a significant turnaround effort helmed by President and CEO David McKillips, and now, according to a May press release, the family entertainment and restaurant brand has launched its own retail media network (RMN) to support operations.
The CEC Media Network spans more than 3,000 digital screens across 500-plus venues, strategically placed in high-traffic areas. According to Chuck E. Cheese, this network reaches families in all 210 Nielsen-rated designated marketing areas. In its press release, the company also noted that it welcomes over 40 million guests annually, with each visit averaging 1.5 to 2 hours — generating 2 billion impressions last year alone.
Chuck E. Cheese outlined the key features common to its newly minted RMN:
- Family-friendly content: An array of famous Chuck E. Cheese characters, in addition to curated entertainment, are set to captivate the imagination of the chain’s guests and wider audience.
- Full sight-and-sound experience: Large-format video walls and screens are installed in places of prominence in each venue and are powered by Panasonic ClearConnect media devices.
- Dynamic ad inventory: That same ClearConnect device utilizes content management software to provide national, regional, and localized campaigns to viewers.
- Programmatic advertising capabilities: These are provided via direct supply-side platform integrations, which mesh into a portfolio of omnichannel demand-side platforms.
As part of a related move to enhance its digital reach, Chuck E. Cheese has partnered with Future Today to launch a branded streaming network — one aimed squarely at children ages 3 to 8 and their parents — to be delivered via on-demand apps and free ad-supported streaming channels (prominent counterparts being Pluto TV, Tubi TV, etc.).
“With the launch of the CEC Media Network, we’re creating a new family-first media experience — one that blends safe, entertaining content for kids with parent-targeted messaging in an environment where families are already making joyful memories,” said Melissa McLeanas, VP of global media, licensing, and entertainment for Chuck E. Cheese.
“By partnering with fellow industry leaders, we’re bringing advertisers a premium opportunity to reach families through a dynamic, data-driven ecosystem built for scale, relevance, and brand safety. Chuck E. Cheese is more than just an entertainment destination — we’re becoming one of the most powerful family media platforms in the country,” she added.
Chuck E. Cheese RMN Launch Follows Massive Store Remodel, 200,000 Membership Sales
The launch of CEC Media Network follows in the footsteps of a sizable store remodel plan completed in 2024, wherein 450 of its locations across the United States were remodeled to include interior renovations and modernized aesthetics, newer games, an expanded menu, and new prizes.
Additionally, per a March 11 press release, the company had managed to sell nearly a quarter-million (200,000) year-round memberships as of mid-March.
Despite these moves, however, some signals remain ominous for Chuck E. Cheese. Calling upon sources familiar with the matter, in late March, Bloomberg reported that CEC Entertainment was having difficulty establishing demand for a $660 million high-yield bond sale held to refinance debt due in 2026.
“While a new bond would extend the company’s debt maturities, it would also significantly boost its interest costs and pressure CEC’s already weak interest coverage, according to a Moody’s Ratings report published on Wednesday. On a pro-forma basis, debt-to-earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will increase, but remain less than a multiple of five, Moody’s said,” per the news outlet.
“Moody’s, which gave this week’s proposed bond deal a B3 rating, also expects CEC’s cash flow to turn ‘solidly positive’ since it completed its Chuck E. Cheese revamp last year. As a result, the company’s capital expenditure needs will decrease,” Bloomberg concluded.
Discussion Questions
Will Chuck E. Cheese’s gamble on its retail media network pay off? Why or why not?
Will the company be able to find a foothold in the crowded FAST (free ad-supported streaming) channel market? What advantages and disadvantages does it face in doing so?
Will this RMN add to the company’s balance sheet in the long term, or is it more likely to be a fruitless expenditure?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Jamie Tenser
Retail Tech Marketing Strategist | B2B Expert Storytelling™ Guru | President, VSN Media LLC
Mohammad Ahsen
Co-Founder, Customer Maps
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s yet another retail media network! Honestly, it seems like the whole world and his wife are crowding into the space in the hope of generating some incremental revenue to bolster core operations. With this amount of supply, not everyone can win. Chuck E Cheese likely has better prospects as it has a more captive audience that will probably pay some attention to video content. However, people go to Chuck E Cheese to be entertained, not to be subjected to adverts and marketing – so this will need to be very balanced and non-intrusive.
Will Chuck E. Cheese successfully break into the retail media network space? It can’t miss with video content shown in its restaurants. Live streaming in an already jam-packed market is anybody’s guess.
The real question is, which advertisers are likely spend their precious marketing dollars on yet another in-store network?
These days, announcing a RMN launch is sure to create a news cycle and a share price bump. Mission accomplished, it seems.
The hard work starts when the network host tries to persuade advertisers that the return on ad spend will justify the level of effort required from the marketing team. It’s worth considering that these advertisers’ products would not be sold in Chuck-E-Cheese physical locations – making all the advertising “non-endemic.”
CEC’s alliance with network provider Future Today should help put the right messages on the right screens. Proving value to the advertisers in terms of new-to-brand customers may be a tougher challenge.
Chuck E. Cheese’s new media ventures are a big gamble. While it has a strong family audience, high debt mean need to generate lots of new money fast. It’s streaming channel also faces tough competition, and it must really need to win over families.
Chuck E. Cheese’s retail media network will be successful largely based on its ability to integrate digital advertising into its unique entertainment environment. It may be challenging to ensure that advertisements enhance the customer experience rather than disrupt it. As well, the company must pay careful attention to data privacy concerns while leveraging customer insights in order to deliver targeted and relevant advertisements to its customers.
Charles Edward Cheese, Retail Media Mogul. Hmmmm.
Yes, it’s another retail media network, but an interesting one. Targeted audience. Lots of interested marketers. Reach beyond the network to reinforce impressions.
The bigger question is will the restaurants be there to support the ad network.