New York Times, JetBlue team up for video mag

JetBlue Airways Corp. and The New York Times have joined forces to launch Times On Air, a new in-flight video magazine featuring content from the newspaper's TimesTalks events, as well as original articles and multimedia from NYTimes.com.

The in-air exclusive programming is sponsored by the JetBlue Card from American Express, and JetBlue is in turn the official airline of TimesTalks events. The programming, which will be updated monthly, covers lifestyle topics such as travel, style, dining, arts, business and technology.

"The collaboration between JetBlue and The New York Times is a great way for each company to extend its brand," said Yasmin Namini, SVP of marketing and circulation, The New York Times. "Times On Air brings additional attention to JetBlue's signature in-flight entertainment programming while exposing more people to the high-quality content of The New York Times."

The first two programs of Times On Air, which debuted on channel 41 on all JetBlue aircraft yesterday, will be available throughout August. The August edition includes interviews with comedian Larry David, professional skateboarder Bob Burnquist, actor Forest Whitaker, "Hannah Montana" stars Miley Cyrus and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Brian Williams of "NBC Nightly News."

In addition, Times food columnist Mark Bittman, known as "The Minimalist," will host a cooking show in which he prepares risotto with chef Mario Batali and scones from the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Other content includes fashion designer Marc Jacobs' Fall 2007 collection, reviews of Apple's new TV streaming media box and Microsoft's Ultra-Mobile PC. Episodes, news articles and recipes featured on Times On Air can also be viewed at www.jetblue.com/timesonair.á

Visitors will be able to interact with the newly created microsite via e-mail to offer customer comments.

"Times On Air is a great opportunity to reach even more people, including those who read The Times and nonreaders who will be interested and entertained by what The Times has to offer," Namini added.á"At the same time, NYTimes.com is a site with a large amount of multimedia content and we have been posting videos and slide shows on that site for some time."