May 19, 2016 – IMG is poised to launch a second live sports channel for the inflight market to complement its Sport 24 channel. Sport 24 Extra, launching on June 1, will 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 channel is an extension of the exclusive relationship between Panasonic and IMG for the provision of Sport 24. 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.”
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 television programming to passengers during flight. It provides live, uninterrupted content to aircraft flying all over the world, even over oceans.
