The next time you’re traveling in the airport, content from the screen you’re watching could be from a Black-owned TV channel. ReachTV is the first linear short-form television network that boasts a robust catalog of daily, weekly, and episodic content in news, sports, business, lifestyle, and entertainment.
There are more than 2,500 screens at nearly 90 airports worldwide located at gates, bars, restaurants, lounges, concourses, and newsstands.
Lynnwood Bibbens founded ReachTV in 2016 and over the last few years, it has quickly expanded to airports in the top media markets in the United States, as well as several high-traffic travel hubs in the United Kingdom, and it’s only going to get bigger.
Mediabrands recently announced plans to join forces with ReachTV following its inaugural Equity Upfront event that showcased Black-owned media to advertisers. Subsequently, Mediabrands execs said they would invest a minimum of 5 percent in Black-owned media channels by 2023.
“The Equity Upfront™ and spending pledge aim to reverse long-standing inequities in the advertising industry,” said Dani Benowitz, President, US, of MAGNA. “As we launch our partnership with ReachTV, our clients will see the immediate benefit of how minority-owned media companies not only provide them with exciting content environments but also closely connect them with highly desirable and hard to reach consumers in engaging ways.
This comes following the deal ReachTV sealed with NBC-U that is expected to bring in more content and allow the media company to sell advertisement, as reported in Marketing Dive.
That means the Black-owned TV channel, which features a mix of original programming and content from a host of familiar networks, is soon going to be the content plug in more airports.
“ReachTV is dedicated to presenting uplifting content that appeals to a highly desirable audience of tastemakers on the go,” said Bibbens in a statement. “We can help Mediabrands’ clients reach travelers who are emerging from the pandemic with pent-up demand. We’re able to reach them from takeoff to destination and from terminal to bar to airport gate.”
ReachTV has also scored a deal with more than 50 content creators, including A & E, AMC, and the NFL Network.
