Cast Iron Media

What Cast Iron Media does

Cast Iron Media is a tech-driven sports media and marketing company founded in February 2021 as a division of ISM Connect, headquartered in Irvington, NY with regional offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, White Plains, and Doylestown. The company operates a three-product platform that monetizes advertising around live sports: SportStream Live distributes 5,000+ live games annually across MLB, NBA, NHL, and NCAA via league apps and vMVPDs on Connected TV and OTT; The Foundry is a patent-pending, end-to-end live sports media management platform that handles sales leads, orders, ad placement, and billing on OTT; and CrowdConnect Live delivers in-venue experiential activations, TV-visible signage (home plate rotational, courtside, dasherboards), and operates an owned digital-out-of-home network spanning 34 Minor League Baseball stadiums and NASCAR race tracks. Direct partnerships with MLB (now an equity partner), NBA, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, and MiLB provide the underlying inventory moat.

The business model is advertising-mediated. Revenue is generated by selling live sports CTV inventory and in-venue/DOOH placements to national brands and their agencies on a quote-based enterprise pricing model. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales organized regionally across East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and Southeast, supplemented by channel partnerships with major agency holding companies including GroupM, Havas Media, Hearts & Science, OMD Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, and UM Worldwide, plus platform access through The Foundry. Customer logos span sports betting (BetMGM, DraftKings), QSR/food (McDonald's, DoorDash), automotive (Chevy, Nissan), financial services (Wells Fargo, PNC), entertainment (Netflix, Amazon), and luxury retail (Tiffany & Co.), indicating broad enterprise penetration across verticals.

In January 2025, Cast Iron raised strategic capital from Orkila Capital and Bolt Ventures alongside an equity investment from MLB, formalizing its flagship league relationship. The company has scaled to 65-100 employees, opened multiple regional offices within its first two years, executed one acquisition (Revvid Media in August 2021), and earned three consecutive Sports Business Journal Best Place to Work in Sports awards, including Gold in 2025. Leadership transitioned in July 2025 when co-founder Kent Heyman moved to Chairman and Dave Clark became CEO, followed by the additions of Kevin Arrix as CRO (December 2025) and Craig Berlingo as CPO (May 2026).

Name

Cast Iron Media

Legal name

Cast Iron Media

Website

https://castiron.media

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cast Iron Media sells advertising on live CTV/OTT sports broadcasts and in-venue activations through its SportStream Live, The Foundry, and CrowdConnect Live platforms, serving national brands and their agencies with inventory across MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, and MiLB.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media Advertising (Connected TV / OTT)

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Sports Digital Syndication & White-Label Streaming Services (MPAKAOAJ)

Keywords

• Connected TV advertising
• Sports media buying
• Live sports advertising
• In-venue branding
• OTT advertising platform

Headquarters

HQ city

White Plains

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Connected TV Advertising Inventory: Selling live sports advertising inventory across Connected TV platforms through partnerships with leagues and rights holders. Advertisers can target audiences with precision using geo-targeting and behavioral data.
2. The Foundry Platform Licensing: Technology platform for ad sales, trafficking, placement and billing for live sports inventory. Provides end-to-end media management for advertisers.
3. In-Venue Branding and Experiential Marketing: Custom experiential marketing programs, national branding campaigns, TV-visible signage (home plate rotational, courtside, dasherboards), venue signage, and DOOH networks in MiLB and NASCAR venues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cast Iron Media is a tech-driven sports media and marketing company that sells live sports advertising inventory and managed media-buying services across Connected TV (CTV) and in-venue environments. Its offerings span three core products: SportStream Live (live sports streaming on CTV/OTT covering MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA across all 210 DMAs), The Foundry (a patent-pending end-to-end platform for live sports ad sales, trafficking, placement and billing on OTT), and CrowdConnect Live (in-venue experiential activations, TV-visible signage and DOOH networks across Minor League Baseball stadiums and NASCAR tracks). The company combines direct league and rights-holder partnerships with proprietary technology to deliver brand campaigns that reach sports fans at home and at the game.

Product overview

Cast Iron Media is a tech-driven sports media and marketing company offering a platform-plus-services architecture centered on three core products: SportStream Live (streaming platform for live sports on CTV/OTT), The Foundry (live sports media management platform with patent-pending technology for ad sales, placement and billing), and CrowdConnect Live (in-venue experiential activations and TV-visible signage). The company leverages direct partnerships with leagues, teams, and rights holders to provide premium in-game inventory across MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, and NASCAR, deploying its media-buying platform for Connected TV and orchestrating in-venue branding campaigns. Owned digital-out-of-home networks include IPTV screens at 34 Minor League Baseball stadiums and mobile large-format screens at NASCAR races.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SportStream Live: Collection of live games delivered through popular on-demand services for MLB, NBA, NHL, and NCAA games on Connected TV
• The Foundry
• CrowdConnect Live

Products and services

• SportStream Live SportStream Live delivers live sports games on Connected TV and OTT environments, covering MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA inventory across all 210 U.S. DMAs and providing advertisers with 5,000+ live games annually through league apps, vMVPDs and other streaming services. It is targeted at brands and agencies seeking to reach highly engaged live sports audiences in both in-market and out-of-market viewing scenarios.
• The Foundry The Foundry is a patent-pending live sports media management platform that provides end-to-end capabilities for sales leads, orders, ad placement and billing for live game advertising on OTT and Connected TV. It is targeted at advertisers and agencies and is designed to ensure precise ad delivery during games, unlock maximum value and streamline the entire media process.
• CrowdConnect Live CrowdConnect Live delivers in-venue experiential marketing activations, TV-visible signage (including home plate rotational, courtside and dasherboards) and an owned-and-operated digital-out-of-home network across 34 Minor League Baseball stadiums and NASCAR race tracks. It is targeted at national brands seeking to engage sports fans at the venue through custom branded content and dynamic activations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% in-game delivery guarantee
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Major League Baseball (MLB)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2025Extended partnership with MLB becoming equity partner. Direct access to league-owned MLB inventory, league and rights-holder streaming apps, in-market and out-of-market fan reach throughout the season.
• ata footballminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2023Strategic partnership with women's soccer community hosting over 140+ live and on-demand women's soccer matches from top world leagues.
• Revvid MediacoreTechnology or Integration · 18 August 2021Completed acquisition of Revvid Media to expand SportStream Live platform for regional audiences through live sports on Connected TV.
• PixalatecoreTechnology or IntegrationThree-year partnership for invalid traffic (IVT) detection and prevention. Over 4 billion impressions monitored to protect advertiser investments from ad fraud.
• LexisNexis Risk SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to expand reach of ADAM Program (Missing Children) throughout Minor League Baseball stadiums across the country.
• Sports Biz CaresminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to support worthy mission through media company offerings.
• Vivid SeatsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTitle sponsor partnership for Empire Classic and Legends Classic basketball tournaments.
• ISM ConnectcoreOthersParent company and division structure. ISM Connect lives at intersection of tech and media with focus on live sports and entertainment.
• NASCARcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive partnership for in-venue advertising and fleet of mobile large format screens at NASCAR races. DOOH network.
• Minor League BaseballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive partnership for in-venue advertising including IPTV screens at 34 Minor League Baseball stadiums and DOOH network.
• National Basketball Association (NBA)coreTechnology or IntegrationLeague partnerships for direct access to NBA inventory through league apps and streaming platforms for Connected TV advertising.
• National Hockey League (NHL)coreTechnology or IntegrationLeague partnerships for direct access to NHL inventory through league apps and streaming platforms for Connected TV advertising.
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnerships for access to NCAA games on Connected TV and in-venue activations across collegiate sports.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MNTN: MNTN is a CTV advertising platform focused on SMB and mid-market brand advertisers with self-serve creative, targeting, and measurement. Comparable to Cast Iron's Foundry self-service motion for live sports CTV inventory across Connected TV.
• Atmosphere: Atmosphere is an out-of-home streaming TV network operating venue-based screens (bars, restaurants, gyms), highly comparable to Cast Iron's CrowdConnect Live IPTV and DOOH footprint in MiLB stadiums and NASCAR venues.
• Tatari: Tatari is a CTV advertising platform built for performance-focused brands and agencies, offering measurement and self-serve tools similar to Cast Iron's Foundry layer. Comparable as a tech-driven CTV ad-buying platform targeting the same enterprise brand and DTC buyer.
• Innovid: Innovid is a CTV ad serving, creative, and measurement platform whose ad-server functionality is directly comparable to The Foundry's ad placement and billing capabilities in CTV/OTT environments.
• tvScientific: tvScientific is a CTV performance advertising platform with deep outcome-measurement and brand-safety integrations, competing for the same advertiser budget pool as Cast Iron's SportStream Live and Foundry offerings.

Emerging players

• Overtime: Overtime is a sports digital media company producing live and short-form sports content for younger audiences, comparable to Cast Iron's at-home and at-the-game live sports content and advertising model around emerging sport properties.
• Samba TV: Samba TV provides TV/CTV viewership data and audience activation, overlapping with Cast Iron's geo-targeting and audience-precision value proposition for live sports advertisers.

Broad incumbents

• The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is a leading independent demand-side platform with growing CTV and live sports inventory integrations. Competes with Cast Iron at the enterprise buyer layer but serves all channels, not solely live sports.
• Magnite: Magnite is the largest independent CTV supply-side platform, monetizing live sports and OTT inventory for publishers. Competes with Cast Iron on the sell-side infrastructure layer for the same live sports inventory universe.

Others

• DoubleVerify: DoubleVerify is a media-ad measurement and verification platform covering CTV ad fraud and viewability — directly comparable to Cast Iron's Pixalate partnership for invalid-traffic monitoring across 4B+ impressions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cast-iron-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cast Iron Media