Advanced Television

Verimatrix, Friend MTS team to battle piracy

March 8, 2016

Verimatrix, a specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-network, multi-screen digital TV services around the globe, and content protection provider Friend MTS are partnering to leverage fully the benefits of forensic watermarking addressing the growing threat of premium content and live event piracy.

The pair say the capabilities of the Verimatrix VideoMark content tracking and watermarking toolbox combined with Friend MTS’ content and platform protection services offer a comprehensive solution that protects against video piracy by accurately identifying and targeting, in real time, the source of illegitimate redistribution.

This new strategic partnership has been created in response to demands from both operators and content owners for protection against service theft and redistribution. Operators lose revenue when their licensed content is illegally streamed, and customers that do pay for premium services become dissatisfied when others can access the same content free of charge. To address this growing threat, content owners and operators need to extend their security solutions through robust forensic watermarking, real-time detection and enforcement.

“Verimatrix and Friend MTS are uniquely addressing the interests of all stakeholders with a service that enables illegitimate video streams to be eliminated as quickly as they appear,” said Petr Peterka, CTO of Verimatrix. “Our unique VideoMark technology has already proven its ability to undermine the business of content theft and redistribution for premium services, and when combined with the scalable global monitoring capabilities offered by Friend MTS, it provides a formidable response to a growing problem.”

The flagship VideoMark forensic profile protects early release content movies and HD and UHD content from sophisticated attacks, without compromising quality. The VideoMark live profile is the newest component of the VideoMark toolbox and is specifically designed to protect valuable linear content against real-time re-broadcasting threats and subscription fraud by enabling a flashing mark that is unobtrusive, yet quick to read and analyse. VideoMark Reveal is a set of tools offered in order to extract and interpret the embedded payload, providing rapid and convenient source analysis for VideoMark customers.

VideoMark will work alongside Friend MTS’s Linear iD, Studio and Viper services which use powerful content discovery, advanced network forensics, video capture technologies and high-precision fingerprint content recognition to quickly identify the source of unauthorised premium content steams. Linear iD provides continual round the clock monitoring for live streaming of premium TV services, whilst Studio makes it easy to track, locate and take action against misappropriated VOD content.

Viper, which is being launched at trade event CABSAT in Dubai, extends the capability to address pirate video services and illegal IPTV platforms, automating the forensic investigation process and enabling real-time watermark detection.

“Friend MTS’s anti-piracy solutions process millions of hours of discovered content every day, providing tireless defence against unauthorised streaming and content leakage,” said Robert Brown, Technical Operations Director at Friend MTS. “By coupling our services with VideoMark forensic and live profiles, we can offer best-of-breed security to both live streaming and VOD platforms that enforce the rights of the original content distributor.”

Categories: Articles, CA/DRM, Content, IPTV, OTT, Piracy