The shift in the last few months towards a verification model to watch streaming media is a last ditch effort by old media to keep their audience. While young people are talking about "cutting the cord", the service providers are fighting tooth & nail to prevent it.
First it was Comcast & the ugly My TV Everywhere nonsense. Two years ago you could watch streaming Olympic video just by clicking on a link on NBC's special website. This summer you had to sign in through your cable or satellite provider's website to watch.
Two years ago you could watch World Cup Skiing simply by going on Universal Sports website & clicking on the video. Last year you had to pay $60 for the season to watch. This year you have to verify that you subscribe to the network through your provider.
HBO does this through HBO GO. But that makes sense because it's a premium channel. Now it's ESPN. I've always been able to watch pre-recorded games. I work on Saturdays, so I would watch college football on my days off, Mon or Tues. Never really watch live stuff. Last night on a whim, I tried to stream the MNF game. Now ESPN requires verification! And even worse, doesn't support Directv. Meaning even though I subscribe to Directv, I can't watch live because there's no deal between the two.
So what does one do? Here's something that may or may not be legal. A European website called First Row Sports streams through ESPN America, the European cable partner. In fact they stream all Sunday games from Fox, CBS & NBC. No American TV commercials, all ESPN America ads for other games. Now do the cable operators know this? Do they care, or do they figure no one knows? I'm guessing a little of both.
Eventually this will be settled. The verification model will not last. Those in the know can get around it. Otherwise we will end up having to pay a subscription to watch online or by the event. I assume this is what the providers would like. But that model will eventually die.
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