Delta, United Boost Inflight Content, Streaming Options with FOX One and Peacock

Delta Air Lines will bring FOX One to the Delta Sync ecosystem, adding thousands of hours of content to its catalog, plus access to live streaming while on board. The activation coincides with the approaching start of the World Cup football tournament, meaning passengers will be able to stream games on board.

Live sports is one of the highest engagement categories for our customers in flight. It’s communal, and part of how they stay connected to moments that matter. Partnering with FOX One lets us bring more of those moments on board in a meaningful way.

– Julieta McCurry, vice president – In-flight Entertainment and Connectivity

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FOX One content will be available on passenger devices when logged in to the Delta Sync platform. The company also teases a multi-screen experience, using the seatback screen for the live television broadcast “while using FOX One on your phone or tablet for real-time stats, alternate angles and instant replays.” 

It is not a traditional trial subscription; travelers need not input a credit card and risk unexpected auto-renewals. The content is simply there for consumption, tied to taking a flight with Delta.

The partnership is structured similar to Delta’s content deal with the New York Times, announced at the beginning of April. In both cases passengers logged in to Delta Sync will be able to access the services while in flight and then keep that access for 24 hours.

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United Snags Peacock

United Airlines is also boosting its inflight content, bringing Peacock to its cabins. The dedicated channel will be available on the carrier’s in-seat IFE system spanning more than 800 aircraft today, as well as on personal devices via the United app.

With these popular series from Peacock, we’re introducing a standout lineup of widely recognized series to our seatback screens and personal device entertainment, further strengthening our premium inflight entertainment offering and giving customers more engaging ways to spend their time in the air.

– Dominic Green, Director of Inflight Entertainment at United Airlines

United’s deal with Peacock comes three years after JetBlue inked a similar deal, and also painted an airplane to celebrate it. The JetBlue plane reverted to a regular livery earlier this year with the expiration of that partnership.

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United will offer “select episodes of shows” in the on-board catalog. Passengers cannot simply log in to the full catalog and stream while on board. Early selections include The Traitors (Season 4), All Her Fault, The Paper and Poker Face. Episodes of additional titles, including The Copenhagen Test and Ponies, are expected to roll out in June.

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The slightly different implementations of these content partnerships brings to the fore challenges airlines face with content, even as inflight internet becomes pervasive and passenger expectations shift. United’s stored content approach retains the more traditional model, including limited episodes from a range of shows. That model is hard to break out of when the content is available on the in-seat screens.

Linking screens to the inflight connectivity system is happening. The Thales 360Stream offering gets closer in some ways, and United is promising “real” synchronization of Spotify accounts and content at some point this year. But getting the systems to talk to each other and sorting the costs of the streaming (or even just real-time content loading) has proven challenging for the industry to date, even if it gets talked about a ton at conferences.

Delta’s approach is on PEDs only, which allows for the full content catalog to be available, so long as the inflight internet works. That’s a major step forward, especially without requiring a passenger to subscribe to the content. Extending it past the arrival of the flight is also a nice touch, providing that extended travel ribbon value that gets talked about so often.

Separate from passenger entertainment, these partnerships aim to drive incremental value for the airlines; typically a commission for subscription activations. JetBlue’s version of the partnership included a free year for elite status frequent flyers and a subscription bonus for others. United is not advertising anything like that with the initial rollout. Similarly, it is not clear if Delta passengers will see promotional rates to extend their access beyond the initial 24 hours. But presumably the airlines will benefit financially if that sign up occurs.