United Airlines brings American football to seatback screens
September 18, 2026



United Airlines has signed an agreement with DISH. Travellers can now watch live professional and college American football games on their Starlink-enabled seatback screen.

Fans can watch live broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network and TNF on Prime Video on more than 200 Starlink-equipped airplanes – about 700 of flights per day. The service will be available on domestic flights through the Super Bowl in February, and United expects to have Starlink on nearly 700 airplanes by then.


Starlink is free for MileagePlus members in every class of service, and the airline expects to complete installations before the end of 2027.

“Starlink opens a whole new world of features and benefits for our customers, regardless of where they sit on the plane – now football fans don’t have to schedule their flights around game day,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “Instead, they can watch their favorite team on seatback and also make changes to their fantasy roster, text or live chat with friends, or even stream different games on their phone, laptop or tablet, just like they would do at home.”

United’s new agreement represents a collaborative effort with DISH, utilising its OnStream platform, to deliver content to next-generation aviation environments.

“With United, we are helping to rewrite the inflight playbook,” added Amir Ahmed, Executive Vice President, Video Services, DISH. “Whether you’re sitting on your couch or cruising at 35,000 feet, you should be able to watch your favorite teams play. By pairing DISH’s OnStream platform with United’s Starlink connectivity, we’re keeping fans connected to the moments that matter most.”