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Amazon’s Fire TV now lets you sign in just once for cable apps

Amazon’s Fire TV now lets you sign in just once for cable apps

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Amazon joins Apple and Roku in offering Single Sign-On

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Amazon Fire TV 2017
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Amazon is eliminating the frustration of having to constantly re-enter your cable credentials whenever you install certain apps on its Fire TV streaming gadgets. Like Apple and Roku before it, Amazon has now introduced a Single Sign-On feature that remembers your account information across TV Everywhere apps from the likes of A&E, AMC, HGTV, and more. (Supported networks and participating cable operators vary between the two.)

Single Sign-On already supports most major cable and satellite providers with the glaring exception of Comcast Xfinity. But Spectrum, DirecTV, Dish, Optimum, Verizon FiOS, and many others are covered.

Amazon says the feature will be rolling out over the next several hours for all of the below apps. Single Sign-On supports all existing Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire TV Edition television products. Obviously some key channels (HBO, for instance) are still missing, but it’s not a terrible list to start. AFTVnews has some screenshots if you want to see how the process works.

  • A&E
  • AMC
  • BBC
  • Bravo
  • CNN
  • Cooking Channel
  • DIY
  • E!
  • Food Network
  • Hallmark
  • HGTV
  • History
  • Freeform
  • Lifetime
  • Syfy
  • TBS (coming soon)
  • Telemundo
  • TNT (coming soon)
  • Turner TCM
  • Travel Channel
  • USA

Roku added single sign-on functionality back in October as part of Roku OS 8. Apple introduced it across iOS devices and Apple TV last January.

Correction January 26th 2018: This article originally said that Roku lacked single sign-on, but the company launched this feature in October.