Olympics 2016: Airlines Carry the Torch With Curated IFE
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APEX Insight: With final preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games underway, we take a look at how airlines have helped passengers get warmed up for the international sporting competition by curating in-flight entertainment content.
Airlines are readying for the 2016 Olympic Games, taking place August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with curated in-flight entertainment content designed to stir up national pride.
United Airlines is currently airing Destination: Team USA, a 70-minute documentary about five Olympic hopefuls and their efforts to qualify for the Rio Games. It features the athletes’ travels while they compete and is showing on every video-enabled United flight through September. “We’re really excited to have exclusive content that’s created by an airline. It’s a tearjerker though; I won’t lie,” says Maria Walter, United’s managing director, Product and Brand Strategy. United estimates 28.5 million passengers could potentially watch the film, which it produced in partnership with Tribeca Digital Studios. The documentary is also available on Netflix as of today.
Air Canada’s IFE features a docufiction film, The Middle Distance, about Canada’s 1,500-meter runner Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who will compete in his first Olympics this summer. The French-language short, with English subtitles, is showing on domestic and international flights through the end of September.
The Olympic theme has even made its way into some airlines’ safety videos. In addition to the documentary about Olympic hopefuls, United features Olympic-bound athletes, including swimmer Missy Franklin and decathlon champion Ashton Eaton, in its most recent safety video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZvjRQS5CMM
TAP Portugal is showcasing Portugal’s 2016 Olympic athletes by featuring many of them, appearing with their own sports equipment, in a new safety video. A judo champion shows how to fasten a seat belt and then ties her own black belt while an Olympics coach and athlete remind passengers to always put on their own mask before helping others, “in true team spirit.”