16 Percent of U.S. Broadband Homes Share OTT Passwords

Parks Associates has found that 16 percent of U.S. broadband homes admit to sharing the passwords for their online video subscriptions with others, and less than one-third are willing to use a non-password authentication method such as voice or thumbprint.

The report also indicates that 62 percent of consumers are concerned about someone hacking an online service and obtaining their personal information.

“Passwords represent risk for both users and service providers due to piracy and password sharing, but the password concept is ingrained in consumers’ conception of the online video experience,” said Billy Nayden, research analyst at Parks Associates. “The push to staunch password sharing and piracy is driving initiatives where each interaction is graded based on prior user behavior, using data points like geography, time, and watching behavior. Grading ensures that interactions that need a high level of security receive it while routine interactions allow users a frictionless experience. The authentication process will become virtually invisible to users, except when they attempt to access services outside their normal behavior.”

Nayden continued, “To drive adoption of new authentication methods, the industry needs to deliver a frictionless user experience, bringing a more personalized approach to authentication in addition to increased security. Poor experiences with authentication and personalization technologies will drive consumers back to traditional methods and increase churn for video services. The smartphone will be one of the gateway devices toward a more biometric approach to user authentication—the top 15 smartphone models in the U.S. all have some form of biometric technology.”