Reach TV's airport, hotel screens now reach 51 million travelers monthly

August 30, 2026 · AdExchanger

Screens at 2,400 airport gates and in 500,000 hotel rooms across North America now reach more than 51 million travelers a month for Reach TV, the Stagwell-owned streaming network that grew out of CNN's airport television business after buying its remnants in 2021. Sports content draws the heaviest engagement and advertiser demand, and this year Reach TV struck a deal with Fox Sports to air all 104 FIFA World Cup matches live, including a 230-inch screen and astroturf seating area built for the tournament at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Several airports have asked to keep those experiential setups even though the World Cup ended, according to CEO Rachel Jacobson, who took over the company in late April.

Air travelers who cannot change the channel and often lack Wi-Fi come close to a captive audience, and Reach TV's data shows why they draw premium ad dollars: the group travels for business 2.7 times more than the general population, 16% hold management roles, and their luxury goods purchases run 25% to 47% higher, according to COO Dave Olesnevich. Reach TV builds its programming and targeting from TSA travel data, mobile location data, credit bureau records and Nielsen ratings across the more than 80 airports it operates in, and Olesnevich wants to open that pipeline further to first-party client data through clean rooms as the company chases new automotive and B2B advertisers.