In celebration of Black History Month, “Listen Inn With KNN” host and executive producer Kelsey Nicole Nelson welcomed special guest Lynnwood Bibbens to the show. Bibbens is the CEO & Founder of ReachTV, one of the largest streaming networks for travelers with 50M+ monthly viewers, and distribution in more than 500K hotels and airports. . ReachTV airs live NFL games, LIV golf, and ACC college football and basketball. For this Super Bowl, ReachTV became the only network outside of Paramount to secure rights to air the Super Bowl.
Starting off the conversation Nelson asked about the origin of ReachTV and how it grew into what it is today, giving viewers another option to consume media. “The idea came from me sitting at JFK terminal four and wondering why I couldn’t make sure that screen was programmed to do more of what I wanted,” said Bibbens. “It was also born in the fact I did film finance and worked with a lot of creators and I watched great content that has never been seen in the light of day because while content is king, distribution is emperor,” Bibbens said.
Nelson shifted the conversation diving into ReachTV being the only network to carry every single live NFL game. Nelson followed up asking Bibbens about the partnership with the NFL and how it came about. “I have to give the NFL credit. The NFL goal is to let me find our viewer wherever the viewer is. The great part about Reach and our partnership with the NFL is we can target down to the screen. We started off doing all the national games then it expanded bringing in every market game,” said Bibbens.
Pertaining to other ReachTV endeavors, the conversation shifts to golf with Bibbens discussing ReachTV’s partnership and his love for LIV Golf that is continuing to grow in the eyes of the consumer. “The first thing that stood out to me, is that it seemed like a team with leaders. It felt like the Olympics. The events are more engaged, with more fun and viral moments. Myself and the players are super excited about LIV Golf and what’s to come,” said Bibbens.
Deeper into the interview, Nelson commended Bibbens, being that it’s Black History Month and acknowledging the fact that he is a Black man that’s leading a television and network company. It’s something you don’t see all the time. Following-up, Nelson asked Bibbens what he hopes to represent when many people hear his story and see the journey he has taken to get where he is today. “To me it doesn’t matter if I’m Black. It’s all about hard work and determination with consistency. But I’ll say we all know that also there’s things that come with it and it’s overcoming the obstacles. Understanding that nobody cares what your story is, and just because I’m Black doesn’t mean I can’t serve other people. Our network is Black owned but it serves most people that are not Black. I understand the impact of Black culture on pop culture,” said Bibbens.
In conclusion, Nelson asked about what’s next for ReachTV and what can we expect when it comes to more expansion and growth globally. “We’ll be in all the airports, we just launched an app that allows you to scan the screen and listen into the TV on your personal device. We are expanding in both the U.S across touchpoints going globally. I’ll say by this time next year we’ll probably be in 30 different countries plus expanding more sports, innovating in upleveling our content” Bibbens said. Also, you can expect an announcement about a new partnership with the Harlem Globetrotters in a couple weeks.
You can catch livestream editions of “Listen In With KNN” sports talk podcast and radio show with KNN every Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm ET. View the full episode below.
