Streaming Live TV Sports, Events, and Channels on an Airplane
TV streaming services like Fubo can keep you connected with live events, such as sports, while on an airplane so you don’t miss a beat. They may give you access to content that your airline’s in-flight entertainment system may not.
Image: The Window Flyer
Whether you’re a solo traveler, business traveler, or traveling with family, the thought of how to keep yourself, kids, or teens occupied during a long flight on an airplane has probably crossed your mind.
If you need a way to help yourself or your kids pass time and prevent boredom on a flight, one way could be to stream shows and movies, or even live TV, on a personal device.
Many airlines offer seatback entertainment or Wi-Fi based in-flight entertainment platforms with a selection of TV shows and movies for streaming. Some airlines also offer live TV streaming via satellite connection.
However, one major disadvantage to using an airline’s in-flight entertainment service can be the limited selection, especially for niche genres of shows and movies.
The availability for airline-provided live TV is even worse. Only a few airlines offer such service and for those who do, there are usually only basic networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CNN, etc. offered. If you like watching networks such as HGTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, Freeform, FX, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, etc. you’ll most likely be missing out. This is especially true for sports fans – most airlines do not offer college conference networks such as Pac-12, B1G Ten Network, SEC, ACCN, specialty sports networks like ESPN2, ESPNews, FS1, CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, NHL Network, nor regional sports networks like ROOT Sports, Bally, Altitude, etc.
To resolve the lack of selection, as well as watch the content that you want, a good and practical solution can be subscribing to and using your own live-streaming TV service on board an airplane.
Why consider using a streaming TV service on an airplane?
Wi-Fi on board planes is getting faster, cheaper, and can support streaming apps
Until recent years, it was not possible to stream your own video service using the Wi-Fi on board an airplane. Airplane Wi-Fi systems were simply too slow and only had enough bandwidth to support basic email and internet browsing tasks. It also used to cost a lot of money to purchase Wi-Fi connectivity onboard.
Screenshot of the Wi-Fi purchase confirmation screen on United Airlines. This particular plane was equipped with the newer generation Wi-Fi that supports video streaming.
Image: The Window Flyer
However, these days many airlines including Alaska, American, Delta, Spirit, and United have equipped significant portions of their fleets with the latest generation satellite internet, which has enough bandwidth and connection speed to support video streaming apps while flying, such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and Fubo. These services can be accessed the same way they can be at home, through your phone, tablet, or laptop.
The price of purchasing Wi-Fi has come down as well, with many airlines offering connections for just $5 to $10 per flight.
Important Note: Be sure and check with your airline regarding the availability of Fast Wi-Fi that supports streaming apps. Not all airlines have the newer generation Wi-Fi equipped, and those that do may only have it offered on certain planes and/or routes.
Access to live televised events while flying
There is something to be said about living in the moment and experiencing things live as they happen. Let’s be honest, watching a sports game after the fact via replay or DVR takes all the fun out of it.
So if you’re a big sports fan (baseball, basketball, hockey, football, college sports, European soccer leagues, etc.), you may want to consider a subscribing to a Live TV streaming service to take on your next flight.
Be able to watch the World Cup, watch an NFL game, NCAA game, playoffs, Super Bowl, NBA Finals live from your airplane seat, you name it.
Subscribing to an online streaming TV service can also be practical if you’re also a fan of the news and talk-show genre, as watching discussions and analysis live as they happen is also something you probably prefer.
Missing live events on airplanes, such as sports, can be solved by using a live-streaming TV service on your personal device. Certain streaming services such as Fubo also have an impressive lineup of regional sports networks, to follow your local team.
Image: The Window Flyer
Which streaming TV service is best for Live TV and Live Sports on airplanes?
There are several options out there for live streaming TV, with the major players being Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Fubo.
A lot of parity exists between these four services, each offering dozens of live channels and features such as DVR, simultaneous streams on multiple devices, on-demand access to past shows, and monthly no-contract subscriptions.
However, the service we would recommend as being best for streaming Live TV on an airplane is Fubo due to its focus on live events (i.e. sports) and its well-rounded solution for families and being a traditional cable TV replacement for cord cutters.
Fubo is heavy on live sports streaming, including the FIFA World Cup, as seen in this screenshot of the Fubo app.
Image: The Window Flyer
Fubo markets itself towards sports followers and has the most focus on live sports versus its competitors. This can be very useful when you’re 35,000 feet in the air and would otherwise be forced to miss your favorite team play.
Fubo carries a wide range of sports including major college conference networks (ACC, B1G, SEC, Pac-12), traditional cable sports networks like ESPN networks (including ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN U), Fox Sports (including FS1 and FS2). CBS Sports Network, and NBC Sports. League networks such as NFL Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, and MLB TV are also offered along with regional sports networks like AT&T Sportsnet, Bally Sports, Altitude, and ROOT Sports.
Foreign sports is also a specialty offered by Fubo, including access to many European soccer leagues.
Fubo has a well-rounded non-sports channel offering as well, that includes popular networks like HGTV, Food Network, FX, SYFY, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CBS News, Comedy Central, as well as family and kid-oriented networks like Universal Kids, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, etc.
Fubo also carries many local affiliate stations (i.e. local news channels) based on your location.
While on a plane, Fubo can be easily accessed via tablet or phone app, or from an internet browser on a laptop.
Fubo also works on the ground, at home, and can make a great traditional cable replacement for those considering cord cutting. The service has apps available on living room devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xbox, Samsung Smart TV, and LG TV.
Fubo has hundreds of live channels, on-demand shows, and DVR capabilities. Another feature is the ability to pause and rewind live TV, which can be great for an airplane if you need to leave your seat for a few minutes.
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Signing up for Fubo
If you have a trip coming up or are thinking about cord cutting and would like to give Fubo a try, they offer free trials before beginning a paid subscription. This might be a good way to determine if it’s right for you, and get some practice using their mobile apps before boarding a plane.
Feel free to use the link below to sign up for Fubo. We may receive a commission when you use our link, but this helps support our website and you will also get a discount (*new subscribers only, as defined by Fubo’s terms) on your first subscription payment
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Fubo has apps on virtually every platform, including Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS. Fubo is also a traditional cable TV replacement, and can also stream to living room devices like Smart TVs, and streaming players like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
Image: The Window Flyer
Recommended devices to stream TV on an airplane
One of the great things about streaming TV services, including Fubo, is the compatibility with numerous personal devices.
For flying on a plane, we would recommend keeping the size of your device in mind, given that you’ll either be hand-holding the device, placing it on a tray table, or using a seat-back tablet holder, if your airline has their seats equipped with them.
Generally, smaller is better. Too big a device, and it may not fit on a tray table, in a tablet holder, or your arms may get tired. For reference, the tablet in the image shown earlier in this article is a 10.4” Samsung Tab A7. Somewhere in that 10-to-12 inch device is good size for an airplane. It’s big enough for visibility, but still small enough to be portable and not take up all the space in front of you.
Here are a few tablets, 2-in-1s, and laptops that have just the right size and computing puter to work great on an airplane for live streaming TV on a flight:
Tablets
One advantage of tablets on an airplane is that their handheld nature means they can typically be used gate-to-gate without needing to be stowed away during takeoff and landing. That means you can keep streaming shows through the entire flight. While less capable than laptops and 2-in-1 devices, if all you’re seeking is a media consumption device, the lower cost may be worth the tradeoff.
The devices we’re recommending here are mid-range devices, which is important, as lower-end devices may lack the computing power to smoothly stream live video.
Lenovo Tab M Series
Features a 10.6” display with 64GB of storage
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8
Features a 10.5” display and comes in different color and storage capacity options
Apple iPad Air
Apple enthusiasts may want to consider an iPad Air, which comes with a 10.2” Retina display, a great size for an airplane.
2-in-1 Devices and Laptops
If you need something a little bit more versatile, beyond just a media consumption tablet, you may want to consider a 2-in-1 convertible device or compact laptop. One beauty of a 2-in-1 device is that you can often convert them to tablet mode whereas other devices on this list, full laptops, need to be stowed away for takeoff and landing.
Microsoft Surface Go 3
The smallest of Microsoft’s Surface devices, the Go 3 is meant for travel with its 10.5” touchscreen display and can be attached to a Surface Keyboard and also controlled with a Surface Pen.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9
The classic of the Surface lineup, the Surface Pro 9 features a 13” screen with different processor options to choose from and is compatible with touch, Surface Pen, and Surface keyboard.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
The lightweight, compact version of Microsoft’s Surface Laptop series, the Laptop Go 2 packs an Intel i5 processor and comes with a 12.4” screen.
Apple MacBook Air
If you’re a fan of Apple products, the 13” MacBook Air is the smallest of Apple’s laptops, which makes it suitable for deploying in an airplane seat.
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