Southwest Offers Free In-Flight TV in Partnership With Dish Network - Wall Street Journal- India

Southwest Airlines Co. is offering free live television to fliers' smartphones, tablets and laptops under a partnership with Dish Network Corp.

The move that marks a departure from other airlines' strategies by having a third party rather than customers—pay for in-flight entertainment.

Starting Monday, customers can access 14 live TV channels and up to 75 on-demand TV shows free on their Wi-Fi-enabled devices during flights on 427 of Southwest's planes, more than 60% of its fleet. The service previously cost $5.

Passengers will have to watch a 30-second Dish Network commercial to access the free TV. The companies said the promotion would last through at least the end of the year, and that they hope to make it a long-term partnership. Southwest will continue to charge fliers for Wi-Fi and entertainment outside the Dish offerings.

Other airlines typically either charge customers for in-flight entertainment or pay for it themselves and provide it to fliers without charge. In the new deal, Dish will pay for the cost of the service in exchange for Dish advertisements on fliers' devices as well as on Southwest airport signage, boarding passes, and other materials.

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Starting Monday, customers can access 14 live TV channels and up to 75 on-demand TV shows free on their Wi-Fi-enabled devices during flights on 427 of Southwest's planes.

The arrangement potentially points the way to a new model for airlines to effectively sell access to their passengers to third parties as an advertising market. Several airlines sell advertising space on their planes, but the practice isn't widespread, and none appear to have offered free services sponsored by a third party.

JetBlue Airways Corp. has long offered free live TV via seat-back televisions, but it buys the service from DirecTV . Southwest is having Dish Network sponsor TV service that it buys from another third party, Row 44, a unit of Global Eagle Entertainment Inc.

The live TV on Southwest includes programming from Bravo, CNBC, FOX News Channel, the Golf Channel, MSNBC, and the Food Network, among others. The offering will also help Southwest compete on in-flight entertainment against fellow discounters JetBlue and Virgin America, which also pays for TV service for its fliers.

For Dish Network, the deal provides access to potential new viewers on Southwest flights, which carried a total of 109 million passengers last year.

Write to Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com

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