Global sports broadcaster turns to Birmingham firm to combat digital pirates
A global sports broadcaster has appointed a Birmingham firm to help it combat online pirates.
beIN is utilising the services of Friend MTS to tackle the threat from digital piracy to its pay TV business.
Friend, based in Brindleyplace, is one of the pioneers of platform, channel and content protection services through its live watermarking anti-piracy service, ASiD (Advanced Subscriber Identification).
The system will protect all beIN channels on the broadcaster’s OTT platform throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
beIN joins a growing number of tier 1 broadcasters using the Friend MTS ASiD service, making it the most widely deployed and actively used digital watermarking system in the world.
ASiD uses a sophisticated but lightweight watermarking technology to identify originating subscriber accounts that are being used to retransmit live channels and events. The technology can be implemented without any changes to the video delivery infrastructure, and enables accounts to be identified and video access blocked within just minutes.
For beIN, the technology means that it can identify individual subscribers stealing and retransmitting its content, and shut them down.
Friend MTS’ CEO Jonathan Friend said: “beIN recognises that piracy is a real and costly threat to its Pay TV business and has contracted us to deploy our ASiD services to protect their channels across the beIN OTT platform in MENA.
“With the proliferation of OTT platforms, broadcasters need an anti-piracy solution that can fit both broadcast and OTT. ASiD is a true step change in the fight against video piracy, with a simple and easy to install robust content protection technology that will wipe out OTT and broadcast piracy 100% of the time.
“Our watermarking system is now the most widely used in the world, as we continue to roll out the service with some of the world’s biggest broadcasting platforms.”
Mohammad Al Subaie, Executive Director of Commercial Affairs at beIN, added: “Piracy in MENA impacts pay TV industry immensely. Piracy causes millions of dollars of losses to organisations, governments and deprives legitimate industries like regional content creators from return on their investments. By deploying latest technological means, beIN wants to ensure that our eco-system in the region grows.”
