Support for ‘content passports’
November 29, 2011
By Colin Mann
Two leading executives in the pay-TV and online video distribution sectors have expressed their support for a form of ‘content passport’ that would enable consumers to view owned and acquired content internationally.
Ian Mecklenburgh, Director of Consumer Platforms at UK quadplay operator Virgin Media told delegates at the Marketforce Broadcasting and Digital Entertainment Conference in London that it was natural to permit the consumption of content on a range of devices, potentially when out of region, via a ‘content passport’.
Ben McOwen Wilson, Content Partnerships Director at YouTube, suggested that it was possible to create one account that users could access anywhere, even on a device out of region, so long as that device was originally registered in-region.