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NBC Universal: Auto-Authentication Offers Higher Success Rates

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Authenticating their accounts for online viewing has proven too much of a challenge for many pay TV customers, so NBC Universal says auto-authentication is the way to go. Speaking at the recent Streaming Media East conference in New York City, Jennifer Pirot, senior vice president for business development and digital distribution at NBC Universal Content Division, said her company saw far higher success rates with auto-authentication procedures during the last Olympics.

"I think there's definitely some credential sharing going on. Nothing that really makes us nervous," Pirot said. "What we really spend a lot of time talking to our partners about is, 'Okay, what are going to do now that it's out there to make it easier for the consumer?' Things like home-based authentication or in-home auto detect, so when you have a device in your home and you're on your Wi-Fi network, automatically passing you through. We did that for Olympics. We saw that the MVPDs that deployed that tactic had success rates of like 40 percent higher than their peers."

In the TV Everywhere market, one company -- HBO -- has taken an early lead. In response to an audience question, Pirot explained why HBO is beating the competition online.

"I think it has to do with the fact that they have really made it a priority. They're able to go really deep on what they offer so you're able to get a full offering on there, where we on the ad-supported network side don't have that benefit from a rights perspective of being able to offer content past the window that we've licensed," Pirot explained.

To hear more about the business of TV Everywhere, watch the discussion below.

 

The Business of TV Everywhere

With the emergence of TV Everywhere, consumers can enjoy the benefits of authenticated channels like FOX Now, TWC TV, ESPN, Xfinity, and others across a multitude of devices. Is TV Everywhere a success today? Are providers seeing increased retention? Are new revenue models emerging that might exist as extensions for the TV Everywhere experience? What will TV Everywhere look like in the next five years? Join us for a lively discussion with the experts behind the TV Everywhere movement.

Moderator: Justin Hendrix, Executive Director, NYC Media Lab
Speaker: Jennifer Pirot, SVP, Business Development, Digital Distribution, NBC Universal Content Distribution
Speaker: Michael Fisher, Senior Director, Business Development, Sling Media
Speaker: Todd Swidler, Global Head of Content Partnerships, Bloomberg Media
Speaker: Alix Baudin, SVP, GM, Digital Operations, Scripps Networks

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