Exclusive: Synacor to Offer TV Everywhere Authentication Via Social IDs

Synacor, the behind-the-scenes tech company that provides authentication services to television companies, will be launching a new identification platform for pay-TV services that will allow users to use social IDs rather than passwords across multiple devices.

While it is common for consumers to do so for a range of Web services, Synacor Cloud ID will be the first to allow customers to use social logins from Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for cable TV authorization.

The Buffalo-based Synacor is a leader in white-label authentication services for many “TV Everywhere” events, including 2012 March Madness, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and, most recently, the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

To do so, the company has worked with many pay-TV providers, as well as channels, including Dish Network, Charter, HBO Go, CNN and the Cartoon Network.

It has not announced any done deals as yet, said a spokesman, but the goal is obviously to work with the big ones, such as Comcast, Dish and Time Warner Cable.

Such a move is an important one, as Peter Kafka wrote recently:

“That’s one of the fundamental precepts of the ‘TV Everywhere’ plan that the cable guys are using to hold off disruption, and in practice it’s a hassle. It requires digging up your cable bill so you can find your account number, and starting up yet another online account and password. Not rocket science, but certainly not one-click easy.”

Here’s the full press Synacor release:

Pay-TV Industry First: “Social Login with TVE Authorization” — Consumers Login Using Their Favorite Social Account and Simultaneously Authorize with Their Pay-TV Billing Account

BUFFALO, NY (PRWEB — September 6, 2012) — Synacor, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC), leading provider of next-gen startpages, TV Everywhere solutions and cloud-based services, today announced an expanded Cloud Identity Management platform, broadening its cloud-based services suite for consumer electronics companies, wireless carriers, programmers and app developers in addition to Pay-TV providers. Synacor’s Cloud ID works whenever and wherever consumers must be authenticated, authorized and/or registered, and on any device.

Synacor’s Cloud ID offering features an industry first: Social Login with Pay-TV Authorization. To authenticate for access to online Pay-TV content, consumers can now login with their favorite social account like Facebook, Twitter or Google, while simultaneously authorizing with their pay-TV provider or billing account. Synacor Cloud ID brings the convenience of social login to TV Everywhere consumers with the trust of entitlement verification for TV authorization.

“Synacor’s experience and scale providing web authentication and identity integrations is a strategic advantage over other cloud identity providers,” said Michael Bishara, Synacor GM for TV Everywhere. “Synacor successfully provided authentication for NBC Universal’s TV Everywhere 2012 Summer Olympics on behalf of nearly 40 pay-TV customers, spanning all 50 states, reaching 25 million subscribers — the largest TVE Olympics footprint. Synacor is now leveraging our experience to provide cloud identity services for additional customer verticals that require registration, authentication and authorization capabilities.”

Synacor’s Cloud ID Management Platform already provides authentication services for TV Everywhere, Messaging and Value Added Services, but has been expanded to provide a full suite of Identity Management Services. These expanded capabilities will enable consumer electronics companies, app developers and programmers to provide a Secure and Trusted Identity Management solution to their end-consumers.

“Synacor provides end-consumers a seamless authentication, authorization and registration experience while providing our customers all their administrative needs such as Account Management, Auditing and Reporting,” said Synacor co-founder and EVP George Chamoun. “As identity management moves from the enterprise to a distributed model, companies such as pay-TV, consumer electronics and app developers need a trusted and tested partner to serve as their conduit for ID services. With more than a decade behind us, innumerable integrations and millions of authentications across hundreds of devices, Synacor is that Cloud ID partner.”

Synacor Cloud ID spans the entire ecosystem, offering an end-to-end or distributed component solution, and existing in Synacor’s cloud or the customer’s. Synacor’s key advantages include the following:

Scale — Delivering millions of authentications, including authentication for Synacor’s pay-TV customers’ 25 million subscriber footprint for the 2012 Summer Olympics and on an ongoing basis for TV Everywhere, Synacor is the scale player in Cloud ID management.

Gateway — Synacor is the bridge connecting hundreds of identity systems for authentication, authorization and user profile information while leveraging industry-standard technologies such as SAML, OAuth, OpenID, and Social IDs, creating a multipronged gateway that both identifies as well as entitles based on a consumer’s rights profile, and integrated with the preferred ID technologies of Synacor’s customers.

Social Login — An industry first. Synacor’s Social Login feature creates a trusted connection among content providers and pay-TV providers, allowing consumers to bind their pay-TV credentials to their favorite and frequented social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Google, allowing for a seamless sign-on process, and using the credentials most consumers remember.

Multi-Platform and Multi-Language — Synacor Cloud ID is accessible on desktop, mobile, tablet and across a range of connected devices, as well as being fully localized for user interfaces in multiple languages.

Trusted Framework — With a decade of success, Synacor is a tested and trusted connection in the distributed, cloud-based model of Identity Management and Services. Synacor’s fraud prevention technology monitors for suspicious account activity across multiple devices, streams and providers. Synacor delivers its solution from three data centers in the United States and in Europe. Synacor customers are in full control over their data, yet can leverage Synacor’s experience.

Synacor has provided authentication services for key TV Everywhere events including 2012 March Madness, 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and most recently the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Synacor has completed integrations with numerous pay-TV providers, as well as many pay-TV channels. Pay-TV providers include DISH Network, Charter, CenturyLink, Mediacom, Suddenlink and WOW! among others. Integrations include HBO GO, Max GO, CNN, TBS, TNT, tru TV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Epix, Comcast Entertainment Group (E!, Style, G4), Fox, Speed2, BigTen and a number of other TV channels.

For more information on Synacor’s cloud-based services including Cloud ID, TV Everywhere and Cloud Messaging Services, please visit synacor.com or email sales@synacor.com. Synacor reaches over 23 million households, tallying a monthly average of 20 million unique visitors and 3.7 billion ad impressions.