You won't have to remember passwords for most TV streaming apps anymore
Adoption of a new industry standard will usher in the era of single sign-on for customers who pay for stations like CNN, ESPN, NBC, HGTV, Food Network and more. Absent from the list is HBO Go (womp, womp).
- AMC Networks: AMC, IFC, BCC America
- Disney/ESPN: ESPN, ABC, Disney channels
- NBCUniversal: NBC, CNBC, Bravo, Syfy
- Scripps Networks Interactive: HGTV, Food Network
- Turner: CNN, TNT, TBS
- Viacom -- MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon
If your brain, like mine, is already stuffed to the gills with passwords, then the prospect of using one single sign-on to get into your paid streaming TV apps will come as sweet relief.
People who pay for TV from cable companies Comcast, Cox and MediaCom will soon see a new standard, called TV Everywhere (TVE), which will use their home Wi-Fi network to automatically authenticate streaming apps. That means you can stream your favorite shows from the throne, for example, as easily as you would from your living room TV.
If you're out an about, a single-sign-on system also means that you'll need to remember just one password to get you into your participating apps. One big omission: HBO Go. Its parent company, Time Warner, isn't joining the TVE fun.
But here's who is:
CNET reporter Joan Solsman contributed to this story.