Paramount+ is taking its entertainment in-flight under a new partnership with Delta that will see members of the airline’s loyalty program get free access to the premium streaming service on U.S.-originating flights starting this spring.
The deal is Paramount’s first partnership with a domestic airline. To get access to Paramount+ Premium, flyers must be members of Delta’s SkyMiles program. On board users can customize their in-flight entertainment experience via their personal mobile device. There they’ll have access to the entire Paramount+ library, including live events and championship sports.
Access to Paramount+ is available to SkyMiles members every time they fly domestically on Delta.The companies didn't disclose specifics on the length of the deal.
Still, it gives potential subscribers a taste the Paramount+ premium tier, which is ad-free and priced at $9.99 per month.
Other streamers have also looked to put their service in front of captive audiences aboard aircraft. Last year Discovery+ partnered with American Airlines to bring select originals, along with content from Warner Bros. Discovery’s Magnolia Network, to the airline’s in-flight entertainment system.
For Paramount Global, the company has been pursuing partnerships in many forms as it looks to expand distribution and uptake of its Paramount+ service. That includes becoming part of the bundle for the Walmart+ membership program in 2022, as well as partners such as Sky and Canal+ that offer the streaming service as a hard bundle in conjunction with international rollouts.
In announcing the Delta deal, Paramount’s Jeff Shultz cited partnerships as helping to drive growth.
“Partnerships with some of the world’s largest and strongest consumer brands, such as the one we announced today with Delta, have been key to the market-leading growth of Paramount+ by engaging new consumers with our unmatched streaming offering,” said Shultz, chief strategy officer and chief business development officer at Paramount Streaming, in a statement. “With this deal, Paramount and Delta are bringing every SkyMiles Member the full breadth and depth of Paramount+, all while 30,000 feet above the ground.”
Paramount has yet to report fourth quarter results, but during a December UBS investor conference, CEO Bob Bakish said the company was looking “at the fourth quarter as the biggest quarter in paramount+ history,” citing records on net subscriber additions, active users and total hours of content consumed globally.
At the end of Q3 Paramount+ had 46 million global subscribers.