The satellite pay-TV provider will bring live and on-demand TV to Southwest Wi-Fi enabled planes, and it pulls an Oprah, giving all passengers on one flight a free iPad 2 to promote the partnership. (Credit: DISH) Next time you're on a flight and captain dings the OK to resume using your mobile device, you may be able to pull up free live TV, if you're on a Wi-Fi Southwest Airlines flight. Related stories Dish withdraws $6.3 billion offer for Clearwire Dish confirms it is abandoning Sprint takeover bid Battle for Clearwire heats up as Sprint increases its bid Dish steps down from Sprint merger to clear way for Clearwire Dish bashes Sprint's 'transparent' attempt to block Clearwire deal The carrier and Dish have joined up to offer passengers access to live TV and up to 75 on-demand shows on the airline's more than 400 Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft. Dish's competitor DirecTV has long had a parternship with JetBlue, providing its own satellite service in seat backs. JetBlue has also said it would launch fast free in-flight Wi-Fi this year. It shows how discount airlines have zigged where other major carriers zag, providing free perks like live TV while others rely on fees like checked baggage to nickle-and-dime their way into fresh revenue. Dish specifically touted the service for iPad, the top tablet in the market, but a spokeswoman said the service is available on most WiFi enabled devices with web browsers, so Android and Windows devices are eligible too. To promote the partnership, Dish pulled and Oprah, bringing aboard the "Boston Guys" from its Hopper ads to hand out free iPads to passengers on board a flight. Dish is also running a promotion that awards Southwest frequent flyer points and the option to receive an iPad to new customers of its Hopper DVR and a programming package. CBS, the parent company of CNET, and other broadcast networks are suing Dish over Hopper, which has an AutoHop feature that allows users to automatically skip over ads on recorded programming.
The satellite pay-TV provider will bring live and on-demand TV to Southwest Wi-Fi enabled planes, and it pulls an Oprah, giving all passengers on one flight a free iPad 2 to promote the partnership.
Next time you're on a flight and captain dings the OK to resume using your mobile device, you may be able to pull up free live TV, if you're on a Wi-Fi Southwest Airlines flight.
Related stories
- Dish withdraws $6.3 billion offer for Clearwire
- Dish confirms it is abandoning Sprint takeover bid
- Battle for Clearwire heats up as Sprint increases its bid
- Dish steps down from Sprint merger to clear way for Clearwire
- Dish bashes Sprint's 'transparent' attempt to block Clearwire deal
The carrier and Dish have joined up to offer passengers access to live TV and up to 75 on-demand shows on the airline's more than 400 Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft.
Dish's competitor DirecTV has long had a parternship with JetBlue, providing its own satellite service in seat backs. JetBlue has also said it would launch fast free in-flight Wi-Fi this year.
It shows how discount airlines have zigged where other major carriers zag, providing free perks like live TV while others rely on fees like checked baggage to nickle-and-dime their way into fresh revenue.
Dish specifically touted the service for iPad, the top tablet in the market, but a spokeswoman said the service is available on most WiFi enabled devices with web browsers, so Android and Windows devices are eligible too.
To promote the partnership, Dish pulled and Oprah, bringing aboard the "Boston Guys" from its Hopper ads to hand out free iPads to passengers on board a flight. Dish is also running a promotion that awards Southwest frequent flyer points and the option to receive an iPad to new customers of its Hopper DVR and a programming package.
CBS, the parent company of CNET, and other broadcast networks are suing Dish over Hopper, which has an AutoHop feature that allows users to automatically skip over ads on recorded programming.
