DirecTV Now Supports Single Sign-on for Upcoming 'TV' App on iOS and Apple TV

Apple's upcoming iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 updates will bring a new "TV" app where users will be able to view much of their TV and movie content from across various apps, all centrally located to make it easy to pick up where you left off and receive recommendations on additional content.


The new TV app has been gradually going live on both platforms for U.S. users during the beta testing period, and it works hand-in-hand with a "Single Sign-on" feature that will let subscribers to certain pay TV services authenticate their accounts once on a systemwide basis and receive access to content across all supported apps for which they are eligible.

When the early beta of Single Sign-on began going live earlier this month, there were four supported TV providers, with Dish Network and its Sling TV subsidiary being the most recognizable while small regional services GVTC Communications and Hotwire rounded out the list.

Full support for Single Sign-on will require apps to be updated to recognize the systemwide authentication, but the provider listings have offered a glimpse at which providers are currently on board with the feature.

As of this week, another major provider has joined the Single Sign-on program, with AT&T's DirecTV now appearing in the TV Provider list for authentication. The addition of DirectTV's 20 million U.S. subscribers makes it the biggest provider to support the feature so far, displacing Dish Network and Sling TV.

ios_tv_provider_directv
The addition of DirecTV isn't necessarily a surprise, as Apple had touted "DirecTV, Dish Network, and more" in its press release announcing the new TV app last month, but it's apparently taken DirecTV a few extra weeks to prepare. Still notably absent are the major U.S. cable companies such as Comcast and Charter/Time Warner, and there's no word on if or when those companies will be coming on board.

Apple has announced that the new TV app will become available to the public in December, indicating the company intends to release iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 within that timeframe.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Caution)

Top Rated Comments

Icaras Avatar
97 months ago
Confusing title. I read "DirecTV Now" supports single sign on. Naturally I was excited because the service still yet hasn't yet launched. Still waiting for the real news about DirecTV Now...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mariusignorello Avatar
97 months ago
I think hell will freeze over before Comcast is on that list. They don't seem too thrilled about Apple's plans.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b1wils1 Avatar
97 months ago
Awesome news. Also nice because I'd rather move towards using the AppleTV more, as I'm not wild about the DIRECTV user interface.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archvile Avatar
97 months ago
Confusing title. I read "DirecTV Now" supports single sign on. Naturally I was excited because the service still yet hasn't yet launched. Still waiting for the real news about DirecTV Now...
They are going to announce launch plans on Nov 28 (Cyber Monday). It MAY launch that day, not sure, but they are having a big press release event about DirecTV Now.

I'm really hoping it integrates into the TV app as well, that would be killer.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lsutigerfan1976 Avatar
97 months ago
Not sure if it is working yet. Course they just launched it. I tried downloading some tv apps to see if it works as advertised. And those apps still prompt to go online to sign in to my provider. Guessing they all need to be updated to recognize the single sign on feature still.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tmelon Avatar
97 months ago
Anyone else having issues signing into DIRECTV in the TV provider settings? I can log in to the website and individual apps but I get an error message in the TV provider settings.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...