Single Sign-On feature for paid-TV apps arrives on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad for beta testers [Video]

Zac Hall | Nov 3 2016 - 7:05 pm PT

Single Sign-On for paid-TV apps was one of the major features for the big software update for the new Apple TV, then tvOS 10 was released without delay back in September except Single Sign-On was nowhere to be found. Apple’s website changed to say that Single Sign-On was coming soon without any specific date being promised.

Great news for Apple TV users who hate signing in to dozens of different paid-TV apps with the same cable credentials: SSO is now available as Apple has quietly activated the service for users of iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1. In its present form, SSO supports Dish, GVTC Communications, Hotwire, and Sling TV.

Single Sign-On isn’t just limited to Apple TV either. As Apple announced back at WWDC in June (that’s how long we’ve been waiting to try SSO), the new TV apps feature is also available on iOS 10 for iPhone and iPad.

SSO also helps you find which iOS and tvOS apps work with your cable credentials so you don’t need to hunt down the right apps or download the wrong app only to find that your cable provider isn’t listed.

Here’s how Apple described Single Sign-On back in June:

For the first time, customers in the US will have a simplified way of enjoying pay-TV video channels by using single sign-on. Starting this fall, users only have to sign in once on Apple TV to enjoy immediate access to their favorite video channels that are included as part of their pay-TV subscription.

Once a user is signed into one network app, any other app on Apple TV from participating pay-TV providers will automatically log the user into all other supported apps requiring authentication.
During the single sign-on process, customers can view a page of all the authenticated apps that a pay-TV provider offers to more easily discover, download and enjoy all of their favorite video channels.
Any network-TV app can take advantage of this technology to enable single sign-on and simplify the process for their viewers.
Single sign-on will be available on both Apple TV and iOS.

For more on tvOS 10, check out our overview of everything new on the fourth-gen Apple TV plus our overview of all the new features in iOS 10 for iPhone and iPad.