Linear Is Having Its "Hannah Montana Moment"

Ryan Webb and David Mataranglo sat down at Cannes Lions 2026 to talk about the one thing every panel kept coming back to: outcomes. David calls it the word of 2026, and together they make the case that the path there runs straight through live sports, programmatic buying, and a simpler viewing experience for consumers.

Outcomes Is the Word of 2026: David makes it plain. Everybody is talking about business outcomes now, and that was not the case a year ago. Business growth, incrementality, true attention and influence. That is what clients are asking for and what the industry has to deliver. 📊

Live Sports Is the Most Premium Environment: Every advertiser wants in on the sports conversation because it is the highest engagement, most premium live environment available. The World Cup, Formula 1, the Knicks. The cultural moment is the media moment. 🏆

Targeting Does Not Have to Cost You Scale: David pushes back on the idea that precision shrinks your reach. You can buy for scale and precision at the same time, and the best outcomes happen when you stop treating them as a trade-off. 🎯

DIRECTV Advertising Is Solving the Fragmentation Problem: One remote. One login. One bill. Ryan makes the case that consumers are drowning in apps and logins and DIRECTV Advertising is building the aggregation layer they are going to want. 📺

Lady Gaga, Rosalía, and a Child-Sized Poncho: David saw Lady Gaga at Citi Field in the rain a decade ago, bought an extra-large poncho that turned out to be extra-large child size, and had to stretch the plastic until it ripped. Some concerts just stay with you. 🎶