Adobe is TV Everywhere service because of Project Primetime and the new 2.0 version of their Pass authentication Solution. Pass 2.0 is available for 98 percent of payTV households to use when authenticating their accounts in order to instantly watch premium sports content on nearly any device. The London 2012 Olympics on NBC, NCAA March Madness, Euro 2012, and the NBA Playoffs, all used Adobe Pass for verification, as will the new Pac-12 channel, and others this fall.
Adobe makes verification seamless, simple and secure for their 150 cable and satellite PayTV providers, 40 web sites and mobile application customers, and 25 different programmers. Adobe Pass customers include: Turner, CNN, TNT, ESPN, FOX, MTV, Disney, Hulu, and NBCU. This fall look for increased Big Ten To Go, ESPN Watch, and other sports network launches. Do I hear a new Big East Conference Channel calling, Sports Techie?
Live streaming of the London 2012 Games on NBC Olympics was a huge statistical success. Pass authenticated United States viewer numbers came in around the 88 million range, making it the highest recorded single event ever for TV. Television subscribers in 7 million homes watched with 10 million devices. That broke down to 70 percent desktop and 30 percent tablet and smartphone viewership. Android captured 19 percent of those users while iOS tallied the other 81 percent. Pass SDK’s function for web, iOS, Android, and Xbox.
Todd Greenbaum, the Senior Product Manager for Adobe Pass, announced version 2.0 and their hosted TV Everywhere service via video. Todd said, “We are seeing a trend where we do feel that there is more and more device consumption coming on board.”
The new Pass 2.0 feature – Auto-Authentication, recognizes an existing user and password; in addition, it understands whether your TV and Internet come from the same provider, all in a single login. After that, your valid subscription works automatically for Live, VOD, and across different sites and apps, with any Pass enabled event.
Pass 2.0 comes built with a Free Preview. If you want to check out a Live event as a new customer, or if you cannot remember your credentials, viewers can get a temporary pass which works instantaneously and then functions without interruption for the next few hours. Providing temporary access to premium TV content is a trend Adobe is pushing forward for both consumer and sponsor benefit.
This fall, Pass will have the ability to expand its reach by establishing a new server side API for authentication within native apps. The new client list API will allow other devices and providers the ability to integrate with Pass for their authentication purposes. Adobe says to expect smart TV, set top boxes such as Roku, and other game consoles, to join the existing Adobe Pass user base. Adobe Pass supports devices where Flash Player is not yet available via HTML5.
Monetizing content is the sportsbiz name of the game. Over the past 6 months, Adobe has seen a 10 fold increase in authenticated streams. Comcast and Cablevision broadband service providers, as well as Dish, have all seen a 23 percent higher authentication rate for their PayTV services, according to Adobe, making it a sports business win-win.
I used Adobe Pass when I first logged on to watch the London Games on the Internet. Because I have both Internet and Cable from the same provider, and I subscribed to the necessary channel package, Pass recognized me automatically, whenever I logged back on via Comcast Xfinity. The Pass single login feature worked well for me across iOS and TV.
What is next for Adobe and Pass is the new Pac-12 Network. The Pac-12 will host and broadcast 35 football games, over 135 basketball games, and a total of 850 Live events, on one National and six regional outlets, with the assistance of the Pass authentication tech. I am a Seattle based Pac-12 fan so having my Pass identity at the ready to authenticate with their new iPad app created with Ooyala is Sports Techie niceness. Unfortunately, as a Comcast subscriber I cannot access this stream yet like Cox, Time Warner and Bright House Networks subscribers can.
American’s and the rest of the world’s population are living in a new tech era where Live and VOD hosted sport broadcasts now synch with countless mobile products, providing second, third, and tenth screen, event viewing capabilities, from wherever you may be. Pass 2.0 allows PayTV providers and users the ability to Auto-Authenticate, Free Preview, and work with other API’s shortly. TV Everywhere is Software As a Service (SaaS) that is fast becoming Sports Techie norm thanks to Adobe Pass.
I will see ya when I see ya, Sports Techie
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