United Kingdom | August 11, 2016– Customers travelling with Virgin Atlantic this summer will now be able to tune in to live television onboard its 787’s, thanks to a partnership with Panasonic Avionics and IMG.

This new service will be available to customers travelling on the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner and initially three channels will be available – Sport 24 for all the live sporting action from around the world, and BBC World News and CNN International for breaking news around the clock.

Sport 24 will be showing action from the Rio 2016 Olympics Games, Premier League, NFL, UEFA Champions League, NBA, Tennis Grand Slams, Bundesliga, Formula 1, Golf Majors, MotoGP, and the Ryder Cup.

Jill Brady, Executive Vice President of Customer at Virgin Atlantic, said:

“We know staying up to date with current affairs and sporting events is really important to our customers and it’s fantastic we can now offer them the opportunity to view content live. We always put our customers at the heart of everything we do and this is just another example of us being able to expand on our promise of making travelling with us irresistible.”

Virgin Atlantic customers will be able to tune in to live TV via their seat-back screen or via their own devices using the onboard wifi, at no extra cost.

The service is being rolled out to the 787 Dreamliners now, and all thirteen aircraft will be fully equipped by the end of the year.

In 1991 Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to introduce individual seat back screens in all classes, and by Summer 2017 will offer wifi connectivity across all its aircraft.

London, UK | May 12, 2016– IMG is to launch a second live sports channel for the inflight market to complement its Sport 24 channel – the only 24/7 live sports channel produced exclusively for airlines.

Sport 24 Extra will launch on June 1st 2016, and take advantage of the premium live sport available in order to provide passengers with a choice of live events during busy periods in the sporting calendar.

The new channel is an extension of the exclusive relationship between Panasonic and IMG for the provision of Sport 24 and demonstrates both companies commitment to delivering an unrivalled inflight sports experience. Sport 24 is the world’s only live 24/7 sports channel for the airline industry and already broadcasts Barclays Premier League, Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, Formula 1™, NBA, NFL, Ryder Cup, golf majors and tennis grand slams.

Roll out of Sport 24 Extra will begin on Emirates and Turkish Airlines, with other carriers to follow. Sport 24 is currently available across 11 airlines.

Richard Wise, SVP at IMG Media, said: “IMG’s ongoing collaboration with our partners at Panasonic enabled us to develop Sport 24 Extra which meets the growing desire of passengers wanting to see more premium live sport on airlines. We have such an outstanding portfolio of premium sport and the new channel will enable passengers to select from top events taking place at the same time.”

David Bruner, Vice President, Global Communications Services at Panasonic Avionics, said: “Sport never stops and neither do Panasonic and IMG. We’re bringing a constantly improving and evolving inflight experience. The launch of the Sport 24 Extra channel reinforces the importance we place on enhancing the in-flight experience for passengers all over the world through continued innovation.”

Panasonic’s eXTV television network uses the company’s eXConnect in-flight Ku-band communications service, including the same Ku antenna and onboard components, to deliver high-quality, television programming to passengers during their flight. It provides live, uninterrupted content to aircraft flying all over the world, even over oceans.

Portland, OR | September 29, 2015– IMG, a global leader in sports, fashion and media, and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in Inflight Entertainment and Communication (IFEC), have signed a five year extension to their existing agreement, which will see Panasonic continue to provide the technology for Sport 24 – the world’s only live 24/7 sports channel for the airline industry.

Sport 24 is exclusively available on Panasonic’s market-leading live television system, eXTV, which is broadcast via satellite to over 250 specially-equipped planes on ten airlines, showing live coverage of major sporting events including the NBA, Formula 1™, the NFL, Barclays Premier League, Bundesliga, Grand Slam tennis and golf’s Majors.

Panasonic’s eXTV television network uses the company’s eXConnect inflight Ku-band communications service, including the same Ku antenna and onboard components, to deliver high-quality television programming to passengers during their flight. It provides live, uninterrupted content to aircraft flying all over the world, even over oceans.

Richard Wise, Senior Vice President, IMG, said: “Sport 24 has revolutionised the way passengers watch sport on aircraft, watching live action from thousands of feet in the air as they travel for business or pleasure. IMG’s strong and long-standing relationships with federations have allowed us to negotiate these unique sporting rights and, together with our production expertise and facilities, provide a unique live offering to travellers.”

He added: “The relationship with Panasonic Avionics as the world leader in this field is fundamental to the success of Sport 24 and we are delighted to continue our partnership for another five years.”

David Bruner, Vice President, Global Communication Services with Panasonic Avionics Corporation, said: “We are very excited to continue our relationship with IMG. Over the past three years, Sport 24 has emerged as the most exciting and in-demand programming available through our global live television service. After all, nothing beats watching your favorite sport live, and with IMG we are now delivering the world’s most popular sporting events everywhere our customers fly.”

IMG owns Sport 24, which was launched in February 2012, and produces the channel from its London-based production facility at Stockley Park, near London’s Heathrow Airport. The channel is currently showing live action from the Rugby World Cup and has also broadcast live coverage of the last summer and winter Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.