TV Everywhere apps on the rise: Use up 25 percent compared to 2016

Single sign-on credited with boosting TV Everywhere apps

The number of people using TV Everywhere apps increased by 20.4 million viewers in September compared to last year.

Software-maker Adobe released that figure this week, saying that the company’s single sign-on function played a key role in the growth.

Cable and satellite subscribers regularly use TV Everywhere apps to access on-demand content through streaming devices, smartphones and tablets. Using these apps can sometimes be a pain due to the cumbersome authentication process.

Each app must be signed into one by one. Most apps also require special codes to be entered during setup along with a username and password. And once a user is signed in, they are required to sign in again about every 30 days.

“In the past, each time a TVE viewer encountered a sign-on prompt, the chances of a successful log-in were only 56 percent,” Blake Elmquist, a senior product marketing manager for Adobe, said in a blog post.“In many cases, viewers were simply unwilling to search for their pay-TV credentials, or unaware that they existed in the first place.”

Adobe developed a function where a pay-TV subscriber can enter a username and password once, and get signed in to all apps.

“As a result, viewers consume more video content,” Elmquist said. Now viewers using single sign-on with a Roku can navigate from one TV Everywhere app to another without having to sign-on again.

Single sign-on included in Roku OS 8

Single sign-on may be a boon for cord cutters that subscribe to live streaming platforms. PlayStation Vue, DirecTV Now and fuboTV are among the leading online TV providers that can authenticate dozens of TV Everywhere apps.

DirecTV Now subscribers, for example, can now use their credentials to authenticate roughly 52 apps, including A&E, WatchESPN and National Geographic.

TVE providers have adopted SSO to decrease sign-on requirements, and the improved user experience has boosted TVE consumption significantly, according to Adobe.

The single sign-on feature has not been fully implemented to all streaming devices and Smart TVs. Roku OS 8 is gradually being implemented on Roku TVs through the fall.

Adobe says up to 45 percent of authentications are happening through single sign-on at an individual platform level.

Adobe is rolling out single sign-on across all devices. Once enabled, viewers will only be required to sign-on one time, on any device, to access all TV Everywhere apps across their desktop, mobile, and over-the-top devices.

Operating systems like iOS, tvOS, and Roku OS are currently using single sign-on.

Residential satellite distributors including DirecTV and Dish have already enabled single sign-on with streaming devices like Roku and across Android and Apple device ecosystems. Authenticated video starts have grown 46 percent year-over-year, reaching 500 million.