Apple TV+ Now Streaming on United Seatback Screens

United Airlines is expanding its in-flight entertainment arsenal with a new content partnership that puts entire seasons of Apple TV+ originals—including Severance, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Slow Horses, and Silo—onto the seatback screens and mobile devices of more than 130,000 passengers each day.

The rollout marks another step in the carrier’s multi-year push to make personal screens, not passengers’ phones, the centerpiece of its cabin experience.

A Cabin-Screen Comeback

While some U.S. carriers have stripped seatback systems in favor of streaming to personal devices—like American Airlines on all its narrowbody fleet—United has taken the opposite tack. Under its United Next plan, the airline is retrofitting older aircraft and outfitting new deliveries with high-resolution displays at every seat—aiming for more than 300,000 screens fleetwide.

In its latest interiors, that means 27-inch, 4K OLED screens with Bluetooth support—the largest found on any U.S. airline.

Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

By embedding Apple TV+ directly into these screens, United is betting that the combination of premium hardware and exclusive content will set it apart in a competitive transcontinental and international market.

“Apple creates groundbreaking original series, and United travelers are going to love watching fan-favorite Apple Originals for free on their next flight,” said Mark Muren, United’s Managing Director of Product, Identity and Loyalty.

What Flyers Can Watch Now

United passengers can now enjoy free access to exclusive content from Apple TV+, similar to what Air Canada passengers have been experiencing since August 2023. This partnership allows United passengers to watch the complete first seasons of Apple’s premier series at no cost. Among the available titles is Severance, a dystopian workplace drama that received a record 81 Emmy nominations this year, featuring nine uninterrupted episodes.

Photo: Apple TV+ Takes Flight with Air Canada. Courtesy of CNW Group/Air Canada

Additional titles, including The Morning Show and Bad Sisters, will be available starting in September, with more seasons and content added each month. The setup allows travelers to start a series on one flight and pick up where they left off on their next trip, whether they’re flying domestically or internationally. Content will be available both via seatback and the United app, mirroring the airline’s approach to flexibility.

A Broader Shift: From Music to Movies

This latest move follows United’s June 2025 collaboration with Spotify, which put more than 450 hours of curated playlists, audiobooks, and podcasts into the in-flight system on 680 aircraft. That deal marked the first time Spotify brought both audiobooks and video podcasts to an airline, and it’s set to deepen in 2026 with personal account logins and resume-play capability.

Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

The Apple TV+ tie-in extends the same principle from audio to video: offer passengers complete, premium libraries rather than a handful of episodes or select tracks. Together, these partnerships are pushing United toward a cabin experience in which passengers can treat their seatback like a personal streaming hub.

Why This Matters?

For business and frequent flyers, United’s entertainment strategy addresses two long-standing pain points: limited in-flight content variety and lack of continuity between flights. The ability to stream full seasons, resume shows, and sync personal accounts—while still accessing Starlink-enabled Wi-Fi—turns seat time into an extension of passengers’ digital lives.

Photo: Courtesy of United

The move also reflects a competitive reality: as hard product (seats, legroom) becomes harder to differentiate, airlines are increasingly competing on soft product—particularly tech and entertainment. In this space, United is positioning itself as the U.S. carrier most willing to invest in both.