Spafax partners with NextUp and Just For Laughs to Bring Edinburgh Fringe Comedy to the Skies with British Airways
Spafax partners with NextUp and Just For Laughs to Bring Edinburgh Fringe Comedy to the Skies with British Airways
The one-hour performances, filmed in various iconic venues throughout the Scottish capital, give customers a taste of the festival's renowned blend of humor and culture.
Experience musical comedy at new heights with Katie Pritchard: a whirlwind of hand-made costumes and dynamic tunes, offering a twist on observational comedy.
LONDON – August 8, 2023: Spafax, a leading provider of inflight entertainment, is once again spearheading a celebration of British culture by taking humor "up in the air." Following other successful collaborations with British Airways, including bringing Glastonbury content to the cabin and streaming the Coronation of King Charles III inflight, Spafax has enabled the carrier to showcase the crème de la crème of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe comedy festival on its inflight entertainment system.
Throughout August 2023, in synchrony with this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, British Airways will showcase seven distinct stand-up comedy gigs from the 2022 festival including Eleanor Morton with "Has Peaked", Jamie D'Souza's "Stop Drawing Willies on My Poster", Katie Pritchard lighting up the scene with "Disco Ball," Rajiv Karia sharing laughs in "Gallivant," Rob Rouse's hilarious "No Refunds," the debut show "Hair" by musical comedy double act Shelf, and Will Duggan's self-deprecating "Iceberg."
The one-hour performances are filmed by UK-based production company and streaming platform NextUp in venues throughout the Scottish capital and licensed by Just For Laughs Distribution, giving passengers a sample of the festival's renowned blend of humor and culture and promoting the 'Best of British Comedy’. These selected shows are housed under the dedicated 'Edinburgh Fringe' inflight entertainment category for the month. After the festival ends, the bundle of laughs will enter the comedy section of the British Airways inflight entertainment system until January 31, 2024.
Yvonne Crossley, Senior TV Acquisitions Manager at Spafax, said, "The partnership with comedy streaming service NextUp and global comedy leader Just For Laughs, brings to the skies the biggest arts festival in the world. It truly celebrates an original British event, offering a taste of the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival is to comedy as Glastonbury is to music, so this unique offering is an engaging way to celebrate British culture at 30,000 feet."
Sarah Henley, co-CEO and co-founder of NextUp, adds, “This partnership with Just For Laughs and Spafax is one way to get our fantastic comedy content off the ground! Thanks to British Airways, this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival will be more accessible than ever with audiences able to experience this usually one-of-a-kind festival from literally anywhere in the world.”
Spafax’s innovative approach, enabling passengers to experience the distinct vibe of a top-tier cultural event, sets the company apart in the inflight entertainment industry. The collaboration, which brings Edinburgh Fringe highlights to inflight entertainment for the first time ever, underscores the commitment of both Spafax and British Airways to provide timely and culturally significant entertainment to their passengers. It's undeniable that the duo has a knack for seizing and translating the current cultural zeitgeist into memorable inflight experiences.
Marina Di Pancrazio, Chief Content Revenue Officer for Just For Laughs, remarks, "We are pleased to be entering into a new joint collaboration with Spafax and NextUp to bring comedy from the renowned Edinburgh Fringe to British Airways passengers. At Just For Laughs, we are passionate about spreading laughter worldwide. We are thrilled to be adding British Airways to our expansive network of airline partners who already benefit from our extensive volume of comedy content as part of their in-flight entertainment."
For press inquiries, please contact:
Maryann Simson: [email protected]
About Spafax Group
Spafax is a travel media network with one purpose: to entertain, inform and inspire travellers everywhere. Spafax delivers content technology and media assets at scale for the world’s leading airlines and curates a vast catalogue of global Movies, TV, Audio and Games across every major entertainment market. Current clients include Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates, Explora Hotels, jetBlue, LATAM, the Lubhansa Group, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and many others. Spafax provides brands with unique access to a global network of close to a billion passengers, across hundreds of touchpoints. The group is headquartered in London with over a dozen offices around the world. Spafax is a WPP company.
About NextUp
NextUp is a subscription video-on-demand platform that livestreams comedy direct from venues alongside their catalogue of 100s of stand-up comedy specials shows. 50% of revenue is shared with the comedians who have the chance for their shows to be filmed, streamed and showcased, rather than disappearing aber their theatrical run. Since 2020, NextUp have pioneered live comedy streaming, connecting comedians and fans from their own homes – puang on over 100 shows with comedians featuring Jason Byrne, Maisie Adam and Clinton Baptiste. NextUp was founded by 3 comedy-loving friends in 2016 who wanted to watch more than just the mainstream names that TV and Netflix broadcast. Since then, they’ve received backing from the former head of MGM Networks, and the former Head of Comedy at BBC Worldwide. Members pay £35 per year for access and play an active role in the company – suggesting new comedians and tech features – NextUp is less a ‘streaming service’ and more a digital comedy club.
About Just For Laughs Television
Global leader in comedy, Just For Laughs Group’s TV divisions, Just For Laughs Television / Juste pour rire TV specialize in TV development and production of unscripted and scripted content. With divisions in the USA and Canada, Just For Laughs Television productions feature some of the world’s top comedic talent - from Kevin Hart and Nikki Glaser to Ali Wong, Hasan Minhaj and Jo Koy - and have been seen in the US and internationally on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, FOX, ABC, NBC, MTV, TBS, IFC, The CW, TF1, Comedy Central, Showtime, Hulu, BBC, BBC America, Kevin Hart’s LOL
Network, and TEN Australia. And in Canada on an array of Bell networks and platforms (CTV Comedy, CTV, The Movie Network, HBO Canada, Crave), and CBC. Juste pour rire TV focuses on the development of comedic content delivered by some of Quebec’s most foremost Francophone artists – from Rachid Badouri and Marie-Lyne Joncas to Dominic Paquet, Christine Morency and Mariana Mazza. Their TV productions have been featured on Netflix, Prime Video, Noovo, Radio-Canada, TVA, Tou.tv, Unis, TV5, Z, Crave, Vrak and Ici Artv. Home to the #1 Comedy Festival in the World and with concentrated growth on television development & production, festivals, live tours and content distribution, Just for Laughs Group has been launching and championing top comedic talent for close to 40 years. For more information, visit www.hahaha.com