Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Row 44 Powers Southwest Airlines Live TV

Travelers out on the road over the next few days around the July 4th holiday who are flying Southwest Airlines might notice a new perk in some of the carrier's aircraft: live television, part of a preview of a service Southwest is working on expanding into 20 aircraft by mid-month. The new service is powered by Westlake Village-based startup Row 44, headed by John LaValle, which has added live television to its in-flight, wireless services. According to Southwest Airlines, the new live TV service will include the option to purchase seven sports and news channels, which they can view on their personal devices, and will initially be available on five aircraft, expanding to 20 by mid-July. Southwest said it will be evaluating different price points throughout the trial period, ranging from $3 to $8 for access to the programming from NBC Sports, MLB, NFL Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News and Fox Business News.