NEW YORK — Sports programming exacts a gravitational pull on TV, whether linear or streaming, like no other viewing form. With ReachTV, sports programming is transcending the home and the bar to plant itself in airports across North America. Looking strictly online, sports video evolved dramatically from its short-form programming roots to become a significant player in live sports distribution, said Lynnwood Bibbens, CEO & Founder of ReachTV.
“What we had in 2021 or even 2017 and 2016 versus now has evolved. Probably the biggest three changes are one, that we’re 60% live sports, so that’s a huge change from short form programming to now being live sports,” Bibbens told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the IAB NewFronts.
Data defines the ad proposition
Beyond the content transformation, ReachTV has strengthened its position with advertisers through more robust measurement capabilities and first-party data integration.
“Being able to be inside of Nielsen” has made a huge difference to ReachTV, Bibbens said. “Now, we’re able to be bought digitally alongside mobile, CTV streaming, cable TV, everything.”
The network has also built significant data assets over time. “The third is our first-party data. We’ve been collecting that now for the last nine years, and we’ve launched our connect platform so we can actually execute against that,” he noted.
This evolution creates a more seamless planning and buying process. “We can now plan, execute the same exact audience inside Nielsen, immediately give it to the planning and buying team and immediately execute,” Bibbens said.
Dominating the viewing landscape
In a media environment increasingly dominated by on-demand viewing, Bibbens sees live sports as uniquely valuable for capturing real-time audience attention.
“Live sports in general, whatever platform it’s on, live sports is going to dominate because that’s the one thing that you have to watch then,” he said. “Everything else is on-demand type of basis, so people may watch it, but it’s over a period of time.”
Bibbens illustrated this point with a personal example. “Look at Succession, one of the best shows on TV. I watched it when I got damn good and ready,” he said. “That’s not what’s going to happen with the Knicks game. I’m going to be watching the Knicks tonight at the time it’s supposed to be watched.”
This appointment viewing creates clear value for advertisers. “Because of that, advertisers and brands now know where they can get those eyeballs in aggregate, and they know a lot about those people because of what they’re watching,” Bibbens added.
Reaching hard-to-find audiences
ReachTV’s unique distribution network provides access to viewers who might otherwise be difficult for advertisers to reach.
“Thirty-one percent of the audience we have, you can’t get on traditional TV,” Bibbens said. “Because they’re behind a paywall. So this is the opportunity for our partner brands to tell them what they have behind that wall.”
With travelers now flying more frequently, ReachTV has increased opportunities to engage with this valuable audience. “The average traveler used to travel three times a year,” Bibbens said. “They’re now traveling six times on average. So that means I’m talking to them 12 times a year.”
Solving the discovery challenge
For live sports on CTV platforms, content discovery remains a significant challenge. ReachTV addresses this through multiple communication channels throughout the airport environment.
“We focus on messaging many, many times in many, many ways. Sometimes it’s a text, sometimes it’s on the WiFi when you log in, sometimes it’s on the screen, sometimes it’s a placard,” Bibbens explained. “We come up with as many creative ways and we also let people know.”
This approach helps ensure travelers are aware of upcoming events they might want to watch. “We look at the tentpoles of the year, we let them know it’s every game. We let them know it’s this game,” he said. “Not all of it is for that day. It’s for that next travel time.”
Preparing for 2026 FIFA World Cup
With the FIFA World Cup coming to North America in 2026, ReachTV is developing strategies to leverage this major global event.
“We love the journey. So we know where people are coming from to go to see these events. We’re in those cities where those events take place,” Bibbens said. “We’re telling you about local cuisine, we’re really bringing a sense of place to the airport to that person who’s, for the first time, coming in some cases, to these cities.”
For Bibbens, these major sporting events create valuable connection opportunities. “These are opportunities for us to let these traveling people on this journey understand where they are and get a taste of it while they’re there,” Bibbens said.
Building new awareness at NewFronts
Participating in the IAB NewFronts gives ReachTV a platform to update the industry on its evolution beyond its earlier perception.
“Our biggest problem isn’t people who buy us or have been buying us and continue to buy us. It’s educating other people to understand what we are now, not what we were in ‘16, not even ‘20, but what we are now,” Bibbens said.
The event provides efficient access to potential partners. “It allows us to educate at scale. A lot of the agencies, brands, marketers that we need to talk to, that would take me a year to two years to three years to find, being able to find in one spot,” he said. “I appreciate the commitment to definitions, measurement, to making sure the industry has some standardization across everything.”
You’re watching Beet.TV coverage of the 2025 IAB NewFronts. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
