The business behind the airplane seatback screen

For many passengers, the screen on the seat ahead has become the main escape from the airport’s stress and the long hours spent cramped inside an aircraft. What began as an occasional luxury is now a global business built around the promise of making the journey pass faster.

The first example cited in the article dates to 1925, when an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris showed the silent film “The Lost World” to a dozen passengers seated in wicker chairs. Today, in-flight entertainment, or IFE, covers films, series, music and games delivered through seatback screens or Wi-Fi to passengers’ own devices.

The business combines three separate activities: manufacturing screens and connectivity systems, selecting and licensing content, and selling those services to airlines. A carrier cannot simply select a film for passengers to watch. It needs a specific public, non-private exhibition license negotiated with studios, distributors or specialist agents.

Those agreements can define the routes and territories covered, the licensing window, available language tracks and anti-piracy safeguards such as digital rights management or watermarks. Specialist aggregators and airline-content distributors often negotiate packages for carriers. Most work with Hollywood studios, while a smaller number focus on high-quality independent cinema.

Prices vary by title and may be negotiated individually, in bundles or through customized deals. They depend on the studio, the airline’s size and whether the film is a new release or part of a catalogue. Some companies pay each time a passenger watches a film rather than simply paying to make it available.

The largest international airlines can pay more than $90,000 to license one film for a couple of months. They may offer as many as 100 titles at once, compared with 10 or 12 two decades ago. Some spend up to $20 million a year on content, using their entertainment catalogues as a way to distinguish their brands.