Synacor tackles TV Everywhere password abuse

Wednesday, April 4th, 2018
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Forever Login takes aim at Pay TV’s projected $10 billion password sharing problem while powering a better viewing experience

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) today announced Forever Login to curb Pay TV’s password sharing challenges that Parks Associates estimates will be a $10 billion problem. Available on the company’s Cloud ID authentication platform, the new feature lets operators balance easy subscriber access to TV Everywhere content with control over the maximum number of concurrent devices allowed and the length of time before viewers need to login again, if ever. Consumers register trusted devices as part of an operator’s sign-in process, providing access to content anywhere without the need to reenter passwords.

Synacor Forever Login

“Operators want to give subscribers the anytime, anywhere TV Everywhere access they crave, but there are complex rights and meaningful business issues that have stood in the way,” said Himesh Bhise, CEO of Synacor. “Forever Login lets TV Everywhere subscribers say goodbye to passwords, while giving operators the tools they need to tackle what analysts are calling a $10 billion password abuse problem facing the Pay TV industry.”

When paired with Synacor’s award-winning mobile Single Sign-On technology that keeps users logged in across multiple apps, Forever Login clears the way for increased TV Everywhere usage both in and out of the home. The feature is available now and commercially deployed at Pay TV operators in the United States.

“We serve an increasingly diverse group of digital consumers who want to watch TV on their terms,” said Scott Young, Director of Marketing at Service Electric Cablevision. “Synacor’s Forever Login is the first tool that enables us to easily enforce fraud prevention rules while improving the consumer experience.”

As operators seek to provide seamless viewing experiences across devices like smartphones, tablets, connected TVs and computer browsers, Synacor continues to pioneer technologies that improve the user experience and align with evolving business needs. Cloud ID with Forever Login and Concurrency Monitoring helps operators:

  • Address password abuse. Reduces piracy and fraud by setting an operator-determined maximum number of concurrent streams and failed login attempts, with automated enforcement and attack prevention available.
  • Reduce trouble calls. Password problems are a frequent reason for service calls but can be reduced by eliminating the need to reenter them. Cloud ID’s password recovery makes self-care even easier.
  • Offer easy access, anywhere. While Synacor’s home-based authentication eliminates passwords for viewers on their operator’s network, Forever Login now supports subscriber logins from anywhere.
  • Empower subscribers. Subscribers can monitor all devices signed in to stream video to spot suspicious activity and remotely log a device out of a service if a device is lost, or a password is stolen.

Forever Login automatically registers a user’s device the first time they log into a TV Everywhere app, and continues to authorize video on the device in compliance with operator policies. Whereas all existing authentication solutions require a user to reenter credentials after a set period of time, Forever Login simply prompts users to “continue” to access the app or site they’re using to watch Pay TV.

“Forever Login is as easy to deploy as it is to use and was developed following persistent interest from customers,” said John Kavanagh, Executive Director of Identity Services at Synacor. “Pairing powerful content protection with a better viewing experience is an industry first letting operators combat abuse while increasing engagement. Synacor is eager to continue expanding rollouts following positive feedback from early customer deployments.”

Synacor Cloud ID is the industry’s only end-to-end identity platform that simplifies the subscriber login experience anywhere end users access their video services. Whether viewing in the home via a Wi-Fi network, connected TV or on mobile device, users can get to the services and content they want faster and with less headaches.

Synacor is on a mission to improve the consumer sign-on experience. The company’s whitepaper, “Let Them Watch More TV: How to Easily Overcome the Login Problem,” outlines the challenges facing pay TV’s deployment of sign-on solutions, the technical and strategic changes resolving these concerns, and the many benefits of today’s best-in-class simplified sign-on solutions.

Synacor’s customers include content networks, satellite, telco and cable operators, and three of the top five virtual-MVPDs.