The TV industry is continually facing disruption, especially as more OTT and D2C offerings are launched. This disruption has also created a haven for those intent on streaming illegal content. These modern-day pirates have seemingly endless numbers of services to attack but why has the move to OTT streaming created such rich pickings for them?
Unlike traditional pay-TV services that have one route between provider and end device - the set-top box - the new distribution landscape is a maze of devices and networks spread across the internet; much of which providers cannot control and are finding increasingly difficult to protect. This creates many different potential weak points that pirates can exploit, and we're now seeing not just content being stolen but entire services, the most infamous case being beoutQ's theft of beIN Sports' service.
Consequently, service providers need to rethink their service protection strategies to ensure they're fit for purpose, especially as more and more people are consuming streamed content.
We spoke to Tim Pearson, Senior Director, Product Marketing at NAGRA to find out how it is helping service providers to ensure they have a comprehensive service protection strategy in place that enables them to continue making investments in compelling content.
What are the main challenges for service providers who want to launch or expand their streaming services?
While many traditional pay-TV operators have and understand CAS systems, in part because they can see and control the endpoint device, the growth of OTT and D2C has disrupted many elements of the TV industry, including how it fights piracy. This landscape evolution has brought with it an exponential set of challenges and threats largely due to the increased surface area that operators delivering streaming services have to navigate to deliver their content. These factors make it significantly harder to track and stop pirates from stealing content, and potentially the entire service.
Many providers currently assume that they will be safe if they stick with their existing DRM solutions - and there's no disputing that such technologies do indeed protect the content, but it's the passage of that content across the network that now means that the wider service needs additional protection as the maze through which it travels has pirates lying in wait.
What is the implication for the Operator's business?
This problem gets greater as the service scales, with new threats constantly arising. While some of the largest Tier 1 providers could invest in large scale service protection strategies straight away, it may not be at the top of Tier 2 operators and D2C providers' investment lists.
However, investments made incrementally in direct response to risks identified by an operator makes for a pragmatic rebuttal of illicit consumer behaviour. Looking at these challenges from a business perspective, operators are also starting to become increasingly cognisant of patterns of consumer behaviour - such as where account activity shows a sudden and sustained spike in consumption from multiple devices and locations. This may be a potential warning sign that increased levels of service or content piracy are being evidenced; requiring an increasingly forensic analysis of consumer behaviour patterns - particularly in the current pandemic situation - meaning there is a clear need to ensure that services remain secure and any patterns of pirate behaviour are acted upon to ensure such behaviour isn't continued beyond the end of the lockdown.
How is NAGRA helping service providers to overcome these challenges?
The first step is to create an OTT streaming service protection strategy that captures the types of devices to be secured, the threats expected together with their mitigative actions, a data source for business decisioning and a legal framework through which to take corrective action.
To then support the strategy and to help service providers of all scales combat the piracy threat, NAGRA has created a toolset called Active Streaming Protection. It is designed to give service providers the tools they need to solve their specific business problems. Taking multi-DRM as a baseline, operators can then add additional tools and capabilities as they scale their service - meaning that there are no costly upfront investments in solutions that won't be fully realised until a later date.
Stay tuned for the second instalment in this interview, where Tim discusses some of tools available to operators within Active Streaming Protection and examples of where solutions have been deployed.
Contact us to find out how NAGRA's Active Streaming Protection can help you protect your service.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
The TV industry is continually facing disruption, especially as more OTT and D2C offerings are launched. This disruption has also created a haven for those intent on streaming illegal content. These modern-day pirates have seemingly endless numbers of services to attack but why has the move to OTT streaming created such rich pickings for them?
