Southwest Airlines is now offering travelers the option to watch live TV on select flights for free, with the live TV experience provided by DirecTV. This is the latest in a string of announcements that have come through recently confirming a partnership between an airline and a TV provider or streaming service.
Back in early 2020, Fubo (then fuboTV) broke ground as one of the first companies to confirm a deal to bring its TV/streaming product to the skies. Fubo’s deal with Viasat was soon followed by similar announcements between other streaming services and airlines.
Most recently, for example, Peacock did a deal with JetBlue while Paramount Plus has partnered up with Delta. Both of which make the streaming services available to watch on flights with the agreed airline.
The latest deal sees DirecTV’s service becoming available to those traveling on a Southwest Airlines Viasat-equipped aircraft. On these routes, fliers will be able to tune in and watch a selection of live TV channels for free. In total, 14 live channels have been confirmed as now available, with the lineup including access to CNN, ESPN, and Fox.
The free version of the service is only available to those using Southwest Airlines’ in-flight entertainment system. However, Southwest Airlines does also offer in-flight internet making it possible for existing DirecTV customers to pay $8 to access all of the live TV channels included with their plan by accessing the DirecTV app on their personal devices.
Naturally, the in-flight internet pass will also make it possible to watch other streaming services as well, so this isn’t something that only unlocks access to DirecTV content and services.
