I’ve spent a fair amount of time on Delta aircraft over the years. Enough to become a Delta SkyMiles Medallion member, and enough to form a pretty clear opinion of the airline. In my experience, Delta has usually been one of the airlines leading the pack when it comes to adding services that actually improve the passenger experience.
There have been plenty of small examples of that over the years, but fast, free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members is probably the most obvious recent one. Now Delta is finding something considerably more entertaining to do with that connection.
The airline has announced a partnership with IMG’s Sport 24 that will bring live sport to international Delta flights through Delta Sync Wi-Fi. The service is scheduled to begin during the northern autumn and will be available on international routes between the US and destinations abroad. You’ll watch it on your own phone, tablet or laptop rather than having to hope the match you want happens to be showing on the seatback screen.
That’s a particularly interesting addition for those of us regularly spending a very long time getting between South Africa and the US.
Sport 24 has been doing this for years
Sport 24 isn’t a new sports streaming service created by Delta. IMG launched it specifically for airlines and cruise ships, where conventional broadcast and streaming rights become considerably more complicated once you start crossing borders at 35,000 feet.
Sport 24 and its companion channel Sport 24 Extra operate around the clock, with IMG saying the service carries more than 6,000 hours of live sport each year.
For Delta passengers, the line-up will include the NFL and NBA alongside the Premier League, UEFA competitions, Formula 1 and Grand Slam tennis. Delta says the live event considered most relevant at the time will be prioritised, so this shouldn’t be confused with something such as DStv Stream where you can simply browse through every available sports channel and choose exactly what you want.
Sport 24 Extra gives Delta another live feed, but the service remains focused on scheduled live programming. There’s no on-demand library to go back and watch a match once it’s finished.
Access is through the Delta Sync Wi-Fi portal after signing in with a SkyMiles account, which is free to join.
A 16-hour flight is a long time to miss everything
South African passengers have a pretty good use case for this. Delta currently operates nonstop services between Atlanta and both Cape Town and Johannesburg, with the flight back to the US taking roughly 16 hours depending on the route and schedule.
That’s enough time to miss an entire afternoon and evening of sport.
Delta says its fast, free Delta Sync Wi-Fi has been rolled out across its transatlantic network, including services to South Africa, and the airline specifically lists Africa as part of the international expansion of the platform. Its current consumer Wi-Fi page still advises passengers to check the connectivity available on their particular aircraft, which is sensible if watching something live is especially important to you.
I’ve flown Delta many times, and this is the sort of addition that fits with why I’ve generally enjoyed flying with the airline. A lot of airline innovation sounds impressive in a press release and becomes almost invisible once you’re actually sitting in 32A. Being able to watch a live match halfway across the Atlantic is rather easier to appreciate.
It also makes more sense than simply loading another few hundred films into an already enormous entertainment catalogue.
Delta Sync is becoming more than free Wi-Fi
Delta has spent the past few years building Delta Sync into a platform rather than treating connectivity as an internet connection you switch on after take-off. Fast, free Wi-Fi is now available on more than 1,200 aircraft, according to the airline, with passengers signing in using their SkyMiles accounts to unlock entertainment and other services.
Sport has become a particularly noticeable part of that strategy. Delta has already added FOX One access on domestic flights and recently introduced SkyPicks, a free sports prediction game developed with DraftKings that lets eligible SkyMiles members compete for Delta gift cards without placing bets or spending money.
It’s also part of a broader rethink of what in-flight entertainment should look like when passengers already carry excellent screens in their pockets and bags. We’ve seen other airlines investing heavily here too. Air France, for example, has expanded its long-haul entertainment offering, while faster satellite connectivity is making the old model of a fixed library loaded onto an aircraft increasingly limiting.
Delta’s approach is interesting because the seatback screen hasn’t disappeared. Instead, the airline is adding another layer around it.
I’m unlikely to choose a 16-hour flight purely because I can watch Formula 1 somewhere over the Atlantic, and live sport isn’t going to make economy class suddenly feel like a private jet. But long-haul flying is made up of hours that need filling, and having another genuinely useful option available is welcome.
If I happen to be flying while a race or a match I actually care about is on, I know exactly what I’ll be doing with a few of those hours.