To be clear, he has DirecTV but is on the road. DirecTV recently signed a deal with Disney to allow ESPN streaming services to authenticate apps on iPhone, appleTV and such, but it won't be available until "early 2015". Subscribers to most cable providers and Dish Network can already authenticate their devices to stream ESPN, but not DirecTV subscribers.
He needs someone to login to their TV provider's website and enter a code to activate a device.
Long Ball Larry, the friend's name is Alfred E Newman.