Virgin America and EchoStar, the parent company to Dish Network, have announced an alliance that will make some of Dish Network’s programming available to the startup airline’s passengers.
Virgin America will offer 18 channels of Dish Network programming at every seat on every flight. The included channels are: The Independent Film Channel, CNBC, Arts & Entertainment, Black Entertainment Television, Cable News Network, The Discovery Channel, Entertainment Television, FX, The Food Network, The Travel Channel, Bravo, ESPN, ESPN NEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN2, SiTV, USA Network, and Cartoon Network.
Those planning to fly Virgin with small children will probably be happy to learn about that last channel in the list.
I must admit that I am baffled about how they are able to receive satellite TV signals on a plane traveling along at 500 or so miles per hour. Getting the satellite dish that’s firmly attached to my very stationary house lined up right can be a bit tricky, so I’d like to hear more about how they do it.
