By Thomas A. Parmalee
Chptr, which FuneralVision.com recently profiled, is bringing its memorial solution to even more funeral homes across the country via a strategic alliance with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which is the second-largest television broadcaster in the United States by number of stations.
The partnership will enable funeral directors to offer the bereaved personalized, high-quality video tributes and service listings and death notices.
With the partnership, funeral homes will be equipped to offer families branded memorial videos that capture the essence of their loved ones. In addition, service listings can be shared in a dedicated section of the websites and as advertising content on local TV stations, ensuring that the celebration of a life resonates throughout the community.
The program will debut this month with key stations, including WBFF in Baltimore, Maryland; WGME in Portland, Maine; WJLA in Washington D.C.; and WPEC in West Palm, Florida.
But that is just the beginning, according to Rehan Choudhry, the founder and CEO of Chptr, who noted that the solution will be rolled out to all 80 of Sinclair’s stations over the next 10 months or so. “We’re going to be expanding as quickly as we can, activating each market,” he vowed.
The memorial offering Sinclair is launching is on a companywide scale, Choudhry said. General managers of individual stations have a good deal of autonomy, so there may be some other isolated initiative in place at the local level, but the pact with Chptr will be game changer, he said.
The pact with Sinclair comes on the heels of a similar deal that Chptr recently inked with Gray Television, which also owns television stations throughout the United States.
Asked how the deal with Sinclair came about, Choudhry pointed to the success of the pilot program Chptr steered through with Gray and a similar one it embarked on with Sinclair, which expanded its agreement “to cover everything,” he said.
“Both programs have gone extremely well, and we’re now in talks with just about every other TV broadcast owner in the country to adopt and expand the program,” Choudhry said. “Ultimately, what this is about is giving funeral homes across the country access to their local broadcasters.”
He added, “Chptr’s platform fundamentally changes how we celebrate and grow through the legacies of those we’ve lost. By leveraging video, social connectivity, and advanced AI, we’re moving beyond traditional obituaries to create a space for meaningful connection and remembrance. Together with Sinclair, we’re not just updating a legacy; we’re empowering communities to share their stories and support one another in a modern way.”
The collaboration will allow digital memorials to come to life with photos, videos, stories and memories shared by loved ones. Packages range from $149 to $849, based on the format and length of the video.
“Combining Chptr’s combining cutting-edge technology with our extensive local network will transform how communities connect and share stories of loved ones, delivering powerful personal content and creating new revenue opportunities for stations,” said Rob Weisbord, chief operating officer and president of local media, Sinclair.
The surface as to how many funeral homes Chptr can serve and how many families it can help is only starting to be scratched, Choudhry said.
“The rate at which we turn on markets is really less dependent on the station being ready, because the stations are ready now,” he said. “It’s really more which funeral homes and which funeral markets want to get going first. So, if a state association head, for example, reached out and said, ‘We want Alabama to be next’ – we would focus on Alabama. If a sizable funeral home or a reputable one in a specific city like Sioux City, Iowa, reaches out, we’d focus on Sioux City.”
That’s part of why Choudhry is so excited to be in the early stages of a national rollout. “We can focus our attention on the people and the organizations who raise their hand first,” he said. “That’s not always going to be the case. As we continue to build, we’re going to be a little more strategic in how we roll out. But right now, enthusiastic partners mean a lot to us.”
While more funeral homes are raising their hand every day wanting to work with Chptr, many remain “a healthy amount of jaded” – and that’s for good reason, Choudhry said. “They’ve seen and heard this song and dance before,” he said, referring to a company offering a new memorial platform that promises them more revenue – only to fall short.
But Choudhry intends to prove to everyone that it makes sense to give Chptr a shot. “The difference between what we’re offering and what others did is there’s no cost upfront to the funeral homes, and they make money out of this, and ultimately they get a great advertising vehicle,” he said, noting that Chptr is already working with more than 70 funeral homes and signing up more every time it “turns on” a market.
While building a business is lots of work, Choudhry is having so much fun. “What I love about this industry is it gives me the ability to be creative on the product side and strategic in the types of corporate deals that we do to create these opportunities,” he said.
In the end, however, he gets the most satisfaction out of knowing that he’s helping families remember and honor their loved ones.
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