United Airlines Offers Live Football on Starlink-Enabled Seatback Screens

United Airlines has announced a partnership with DISH to offer live professional and college football games on Starlink-enabled seatback screens. This service began on 18 September 2026 and will be available to passengers until February 2027.

Broadcasts include content from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network, and TNF on Prime Video. The service is accessible on more than 200 Starlink-equipped mainline aircraft, which operate approximately 700 flights per day. United aims to expand this availability to nearly 700 mainline aircraft by early 2027. Starlink internet access, which powers this service, is complimentary for all MileagePlus members across every class of service.

This initiative builds on United's ongoing deployment of Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet, with installations expected to be completed before the end of 2027. The airline also plans to install seatback screens on up to 1,000 aircraft by the end of 2027, including new aircraft featuring 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screens.

Source: United

Opinion

As I am not from the US, watching football isn't exactly a priority of mine, particularly not on a flight. The partnership is still interesting, however, as it showcases that airlines can take the Starlink experience much further than merely offering fast Wi-Fi. I expect more partnerships of this kind; airlines might partner with content providers such as Apple, Disney, or Netflix in the future, thereby avoiding the need to individually organise, upload, and maintain content on their aircraft.