Postimees using GeoGuard to protect Olympics broadcast in Estonia
July 30, 2021
GeoComply Solutions has announced that Postimees Grupp, the largest media group in the Baltics, has signed a new contract to use the GeoGuard VPN and proxy detention solution on an on-going basis in order to protect against geo-piracy across its live and on-demand content. As Postimees begins broadcasting more high value content such as the Tokyo Olympics, it has expanded its use of GeoGuard in order to continuously block illegal, out of territory, viewers across its free-to-air portfolio.
When it won the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics in Estonia starting with the Winter Games in 2018, Postimees chose to deploy GeoGuard on a pay-as-you-go deal. This ensured it complied with its contractual obligations with the International Olympics Committee to detect and block overseas viewers from accessing the content over a VPN or a proxy.
Postimees initially looked for a partner who could provide the business model flexibility to offer geo-blocking during the Games on a pay-as-you-go model. Now, as the broadcaster ramps up its plans to offer more premium content live and on-demand, Postimees has moved to an ongoing contract that ensures it meets its agreements with rights holders to block illegal VPN and proxy users from outside the country.
“We aren’t in the same league as larger operators with deep pockets and negotiating power, so it was refreshing to work with GeoComply who treated us the same as the big names,” said Andres Jakovlev, Head of Video Streams at Postimees Grupp. “When we first obtained broadcasting rights for the Winter Olympics, it was the first time the Games had been fully broadcasted by a private company and we were determined to make no mistakes. GeoComply was integral to that success.”
Jakovlev added: “The best services are those that you don’t have to think about. And GeoGuard fits the bill. It has run smoothly in the background to block pirate users from accessing live and on-demand content with the high accuracy rates we require.”
“Many smaller video service providers continue to believe that anti-piracy solutions are out of their reach, but our partnership with Postimees demonstrates that this is far from the truth,” said James Clark, Director of Global Sales at GeoComply. “While Postimees initially only used GeoGuard for the Olympic Games on channels including the most popular TV channel in Estonia, Kanal 2, it has subsequently seen the value of extending its use as it starts to broadcast more premium content.”