As part of the TV Everywhere initiative that’s being pushed by cable and satellite providers, NBC’s Olympic coverage will require viewers to authenticate to watch its online streams. Now for those who have not verified their cable and satellite subscriptions on the NBC Sports Live Extra App, they’ll be allowed a one-time and one-time only 30 minute pass that allows them to watch streaming coverage. Once this pass is used, viewers will have access to streaming for just five minutes hereafter.
In addition to using their cable and satellite ID’s and passwords to authenticate, certain cable providers will allow for in-home auto verification which identifies IP addresses and cross-references them with subscriber accounts.
If you have already signed up on NBCOlympics.com or the NBC Sports Live Extra app, then you’re all set. You don’t have to verify again.
NBC’s owner, Comcast wants to utilize TV Everywhere to ensure that cable subscribers get the entire Olympic experience.
NBC says nearly 10 million devices have been verified leading up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Here’s the NBC announcement.
NBC OLYMPICS OFFERS INNOVATIVE TEMPORARY PASS TO VIEW LIVE STREAMING CONTENT VIA NBCOLYMPICS.COM & NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA APP FOR SOCHI GAMES
Temporary Pass & In-Home Auto-Verification Among Features Created to Help Fuel TV Everywhere Adoption and Usage
SOCHI, Russia – February 4, 2014 – The XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, promise to be a catalyst for TV Everywhere, and NBC Olympics is offering an innovative temporary pass to maximize device verification.
Since the 2012 London Olympics, NBC Olympics has worked with the cable/satellite/telco industry to improve the verification process with innovative technology. During the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia from February 6-23, all viewers will be offered a multi-day temporary pass to access live streaming content on NBCOlympics.com and/or on the NBC Sports Live Extra app, without having to verify a cable subscription.
Unverified viewers will be given a one-time 30-minute temporary pass the first time live-streaming content is accessed. This will provide ample time for users to gather their credentials to verify, but not miss any Olympic action. Viewers will also be given a subsequent pass for five minutes per day thereafter.
In addition to temporary pass, additional features have been created to provide a more seamless experience for the industry’s customers:
- In-Home Auto-Verification: Beginning February 6, the devices of cable subscribers of Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Cox Communications, Cablevision’s Optimum TV and Midcontinent Communications (Midco) will be verified automatically when used within the customers’ homes because these providers are employing in-home auto-verification, which recognizes IP addresses and cross-references those addresses with subscriber accounts to automatically verify video subscriptions. Those cable providers who deployed in-home auto-verification during the 2012 London Olympics had verification success rates that were up to 1.5x times the average.
- Cross-Domain Verification: Customers who have already verified their subscriptions with Adobe Pass on NBCUniversal network websites and applications will not have to re-verify those subscriptions. The device will recognize their verification credentials and will provide immediate access to NBC Sports Live Extra’s live stream content.
“We verified nearly 10 million devices during the London Olympics,” said Rick Cordella, SVP & GM, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. “With improved tools, including the multi-day temp pass and more providers offering in-home verification, our goal is for temporary pass to really drive usage and adoption of TV Everywhere in a way that hasn’t ever been done before.”
Said Ron Lamprecht, Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal Digital Distribution, “NBCUniversal is leading the charge in making TV Everywhere as easy and accessible as possible for our viewers. We look forward to taking what we learn about temp pass and in-home auto verification during the Sochi Olympics and applying it to the rest of NBCUniversal’s valued networks.”
As previously announced, verified cable/satellite and telco customers will be able to access more than 1,000 hours of live streaming content of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia this February – more than double the hours of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. At no additional charge, multi-channel customers can verify their video subscriptions at NBCOlympics.com.
During the Sochi Olympics, and for the first time in the history of the Winter Games, all competition across all 15 sports, including each medal-winning performance in all 98 events, will be live streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app, the preeminent destinations for Olympic content and the exclusive homes of Olympic video coverage. The site will also feature exclusive content, real-time results, medal standings, event highlights and analysis, athlete interviews and profiles, and rewinds of all event coverage.
The vast majority of live streaming will only be available to verified cable, satellite or telco customers, illustrating NBCUniversal’s support of “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to verified customers on multiple platforms, both in and out of their homes. Like no other event to date, the Olympic Games have been, and continue to be, a critical driver of “TV Everywhere,” helping to propel awareness and usage. Cable, satellite, and telco customers verified 9.9 million devices during the London Olympic Games, either on NBCOlympics.com or on the NBC Olympics Live Extra app. This is believed to be the most device verifications for a single event in TV Everywhere history.
HOW IT WORKS
In order to access the more than 1,000 hours of live Olympic programming this winter at NBCOlympics.com, existing cable, satellite and telco customers should follow these verification procedures:
- Go to NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra
- Click the “Verify Now” button
- Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
- Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
- Upon verification of your subscription to an Olympics-eligible package, you will be signed in throughout the Games on that device!
Customers with multiple devices will need to repeat the procedure on each device. There is no additional charge for this service and a customer’s subscription will not be affected. Customers who do not have a username and password should contact their cable, satellite or telco provider to create one. More information about the process, including contact information for cable, satellite and telco providers, can be found at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Coming off the tremendous success of the 2012 London Olympics, NBCUniversal and the cable/satellite/telco industry once again partnered on a marketing campaign to educate customers about the verification process. Click here to watch a video with NBCUniversal on-air personality Ryan Seacrest that explains how to verify (http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help). This video also aired as part of NBCUniversal’s Olympic cross-channel marketing efforts and on NBCOlympics.com. Customized versions of the Ryan Seacrest tutorial were developed for cable, satellite and telco systems, in addition to an online toolkit of promotional assets including digital banners, e-mail templates, taggable promotional spots and additional marketing support materials to inform their customers about verification. A consumer sweepstakes with a grand prize trip to Rio de Janeiro in 2014 was also created as an incentive to encourage customers to verify in advance of the Games.
And we’re done here.
That is all.
