Travellers using Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners this summer can watch live TV of their choice, albeit with a limited number of free channels on offer initially.

Virgin has chosen Panasonic Aviation as its broadband and entertainment prime contractor with sports contractor IMG, and the airlines full 13-aircraft Dreamliner fleet will be equipped for live TV by year-end.

Three channels are currently on offer, a ‘Sport24’ which is showing action from the Rio 2016 Olympics Games, Premier League, NFL, UEFA Champions League, NBA, Tennis Grand Slams, Bundesliga, Formula 1, Golf Majors, MotoGP, and the Ryder Cup.

BBC News and CNN International are also available.

IMG, originally known as International Management Group, is a huge independent sports contractor (originally founded by the late Mark McCormack, and now owned by William Morris/Silver Lake Partners).

Its Sport24 channel is beamed live to the aircraft and cruise markets from its Stockley Park, west London HQ, and the feeds collected by satellite and re-uplinked by Arqiva, Globecast and others to around 30 geostationary satellites around the world.

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