Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

AfricaCOM 2022: Taking the Pulse of Africa's Digital Transformation

28/11/2022

2022 will forever be the year that in-person events got back on their feet after two years in hibernation. As we've seen at all the events NAGRA has attended this year, the overwhelming desire to reconnect with colleagues and friends has been responsible for getting us all together again. The recent AfricaCOM expo, the flagship event of Africa's Tech Festival in Cape Town certainly supported this theory with our stand team reporting an atmosphere of curiosity and vibrancy that brought an unmistakably African vibe to proceedings.

Engaging with our stand visitors, we were struck by how keen everyone one was to get delayed projects moving again and learn how the challenges of a digital landscape so broad and diverse as Africa can be met with today's solutions. It was also great to reconnect with key partners to discuss the latest trends and review the projects we're jointly working on across Africa.

At our stand we ranged a number of solutions designed to respond to the questions of our visitors.

Hybrid OTT Streaming

Our Hybrid OTT streaming solutions showed the range of advanced features that can now be deployed quickly and simply onto retail-available hardware such as an Android TV set-top box. Powered by the NAGRA OpenTV Video Platform, our hybrid streaming solutions are used the world over by organizations looking to offer aggregated solutions driven by the great rebundling'. These solutions help operators deliver greater value by providing their subscribers with access to all the content they love via one central app - irrespective of the content's source or originating service. Our customer case studies of Starhub in Singapore and Claro in Colombia - who also added direct billing for Netflix to their service, attracted a lot of interest as new strategies and approaches were considered.

Direct-To-TV

For a continent where direct-to-TV solutions enjoy considerable success, we had a lot of discussions not only about our conditional access module (CAM) solutions but also our innovative TVkey solution which NAGRA created with Samsung. Deployed by HD+ in Ghana, it allows operators to tap into new distribution channels such as electrical retail and acquire subscribers through tantalizing offers as part of a new TV purchase. Also offering the ability to offer an identical user experience to that seen on a set-top box with the operator's brand front and center, there was a lot of discussion about how this can help address the challenges associated with reducing the cost to serve while still offering highly secure premium 4K content.

Protecting Revenues from Piracy

For those visitors who had already launched streaming propositions, there were a lot of conversations about how, as they rollout more premium content, the challenges get magnified as richer pickings are spotted by pirates. Themes such as CDN content theft, credential sharing and app protection were all discussed at length. The NAGRA Active Streaming Protection framework is designed to address the threats posed by streaming piracy. Featuring several different options and technologies, it aims, through a central security monitoring and analytics dashboard, to provide a clear, end-to-end view of the challenges facing the network. For today's streaming providers, multi-DRM isn't enough, and the distributed nature of OTT delivery means there are several aspects that need to be holistically considered to gain a true picture of the streaming piracy threat.

Growing Cybersecurity Threats

Our increasingly connected lifestyles mean that the attack surface area we expose to cyber criminals is considerable. But if you multiply that up and consider the surface area that operators are having to defend, the size of the challenge (and threat) is even larger. Add to this the dependency on the cloud and increasingly digital interactions with consumers and the shape of the new landscape is clear. For several operators that don't have in-house cyber teams, this is a daunting prospect and so our teams were happy to discuss how our holistic cyber protection solutions offer not only a focus on anti-piracy but also cybersecurity services such as incident response. These solutions focus on proactive approaches although when a reaction is necessary, our cyber fusion center teams respond instantly.

The team had a great time at AfricaCOM and as my colleague Mlu Mhlungu said, It's just great to be back chatting with people face to face and learning how we can help them continue to be successful. Our South Africa based team are looking forward to continuing the conversations started at AfricaCOM and are also excited to be moving to a new office in Cape Town in the New Year - if you're in the area, get in touch and we'll get the coffee on!
LINK: https://dtv.nagra.com/africacom-2022-taking-pulse-africas-digital-tran...
See more stories from nagra

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

07/08/2026

Nielsen to Acquire DoubleVerify, Creating a Leading, Independent Media Intelligence Platform

DoubleVerify Shareholders to Receive $13.60 Per Share in Cash, Representing a 30...

07/08/2026

Lawo To Highlight Dynamic Media Facility Support At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

MediaKind To Feature Unified Product Portfolio At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

ACT Entertainment Honored with Neutrik Group Americas Par...

The Award Recognizes ACT's Outstanding Sales Performance, Marketing Collaboration and Long-standing Commitment to the NEUTRIK Brand ACT Entertainment, one ...

07/08/2026

Beamr Brings NVIDIA Video Super Resolution to Live Sports...

Beamr Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: BMR), a leader in video optimization technology and solutions, today announced it is bringing AI upscaling to live sports, broadcast...

07/08/2026

Berklee City Music Presents Nine Scholarships and Awards at Annual Concert

Berklee City Music Presents Nine Scholarships and Awards at Annual Concert Student recipients from seven states and Canada received scholarships, housing awar...

07/08/2026

Lawo To Highlights Dynamic Media Facility Support At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

Kevin Trueblood to Return as SBE President

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

Riedel To Demo 'Live Production Experience At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

LTN Enhances Live Event Master Control Capabilities

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

AI-Native Film Studio Launches in Toronto

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

Judge Orders Removal of Nexstar Employees from Tegna Board

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

Riedel Communications at IBC2026 Live Production Experien...

Riedel Communications at IBC2026: Live Production Experience Showcasing Integrated IP Production Workflows At IBC2026, Riedel Communications will bring modern ...

07/08/2026

Shotoku Showcases Expanding Aura PTZ Ecosystem and Award-...

Shotoku Showcases Expanding Aura PTZ Ecosystem and Award-Winning Swoop Robotic Crane at IBC2026 Shotoku Broadcast Systems will officially introduce its Aura fa...

07/08/2026

Cobalt Digital to Bring New and Enhanced Practical Soluti...

Highlights will include new Dante fiber connectivity, expanded IPMX capabilities and award-winning signal processing solutions Cobalt Digital, the leading des...

07/08/2026

Bob Moses Concert at Red Rocks Captured with URSA Cine 12K LF

Bob Moses Concert at Red Rocks Captured with URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton August 6, 2026 0 Comments PYXIS 12K and URSA Cine 12K LF enable cinematic c...

07/08/2026

Use It or Else Is Not an AI Implementation Strategy

Use It or Else Is Not an AI Implementation Strategy Andy Marken August 6, 2026 0 Comments Source - Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe, Touchstone Pi...

07/08/2026

Major transformation of UK digital radio platform

Migration of more than 1,000 radio services delivers improved resilience, efficiency and sustainability 07 August 2026, Winchester, UK Arqiva, the UK's l...

07/08/2026

Commission accelerates IRIS deployment with enhanced security and expanded satellites network

On 6 August, the European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium concluded nego...

07/08/2026

A date worth betraying your plans for The Traitors Ireland returns to screens Sunday, 30 August

The Traitors Ireland Uncloaked is also back with all the behind the scenes drama...

06/08/2026

USA Sports Rolls Into 2026 NASCAR Season With First Pace-Car Analyst on Selected Races

The broadcaster's 14-race schedule begins in Iowa and ends in November with ...

06/08/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 25: Chicago Bears Katlin Strange - Serving the Masses in the Windy City

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

06/08/2026

Warner Bros Discovery's Anne Graham Details the Organization's Media-Ops and Metadata Consolidation Across Sports and Entertainment

As media organizations consolidate teams, technology platforms, and content libr...

06/08/2026

Dolby Vision 2 Begins Rollout on Selected 2026 Hisense TVs

Firmware updates introduce Dolby's next-generation picture engine, content-aware optimization, and new motion and ambient-light tools...

06/08/2026

TNT Sports Preps Wall-to-Wall Coverage of FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 from Sept. 4-13

TNT Sports will have wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming FIBA Women's Bask...

06/08/2026

IBC 2026: swXtch.io Introduces groundSwXtch Software-Defined Multicast Overlay

swXtch.io (Stand 5.MR13) has unveiled groundSwXtch for Audio over IP (AoIP), a software application that lets broadcasters and media organizations move audio in...

06/08/2026

IBC 2026: Riedel Communications Showcases Integrated IP Production Workflows

At IBC2026, Riedel Communications (Stands: 10.A24, 10.A31, 10.A38) will bring modern media production to life with the Live Production Experience - a connected ...

06/08/2026

Sandy Grossman's Legacy as a Pioneering Director Earns Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award

The first live-sports director to receive the prestigious honor, eight-time Emmy...

06/08/2026

NBC Sports, Maryland Jockey Club Continue Partnership To Present Preakness Stakes Through 2032

NBC Sports will continue to present the Preakness Stakes on NBC and Peacock thro...

06/08/2026

IBC 2026: Cobalt Digital Brings New Practical Solutions to Evolving Broadcast Workflows

Cobalt Digital (Stand 8.F90) continues to reinforce its commitment to delivering...

06/08/2026

Wave Central Elevates Jeff Daubert to Director of Sales, Americas

Wave Central has promoted promotion Jeff Daubert to Director of Sales, Americas. In his expanded role, Daubert will lead Wave Central's sales strategy and ...

06/08/2026

KMH Integration Adds Architect Keith Hanadel to Expanding Full-Services Team

KMH Integration is expanding its ability to serve media, broadcast, and IT organizations by adding Keith Hanadel, an accomplished architect with decades of indu...

06/08/2026

Advanced Systems Group Promotes Michele Ferreira to Chief Business Officer

Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has promoted Michele Ferreira from Vice President of its Systems Integration team to the newly created position of Chief Business O...

06/08/2026

IBC2026: Appear Expands X, VX Platforms for Hybrid Live-Production Workflows

Demonstrations will include new JPEG XS, Dolby audio, cloud-gateway, stream-processing, and distribution capabilities...

06/08/2026

Live Media Group Acquires Gravity Media's U.S. Mobile-Production Assets, Adds Eight Units to Fleet

The deal includes three premium mobile units, engineering personnel, existing br...

06/08/2026

Broadcast Management Group, LiveU Power Vertical REMI Production for Amazon Prime's Obsessed Fest on TikTok

Broadcast Management Group produced Amazon Prime's inaugural Obsessed Fest a...

06/08/2026

IBC2026: Ikegami to Showcase Expanded UNICAM Camera and Monitoring Lineup

Exhibit will feature new variable-ND functionality, OLED viewfinders, remote-camera tools, and UHD production monitors...

06/08/2026

Sony Introduces FE 100-400mm Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens

Compact full-frame E-mount lens targets sports, wildlife, and other long-range shooting applications...

06/08/2026

Tennis Channel Lands Exclusive U.S. Coverage of 2026 International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Live broadcast will honor Roger Federer and Mary Carillo on Aug. 29, with onsite...

06/08/2026

UTEP Upgrades Sun Bowl Stadium Video Display With Daktronics

End-zone board receives higher-resolution LED technology and an updated Show Control system ahead of the 2026 football season...

06/08/2026

Fender launch Fender Motion controllers

New 16- and 32-pad MIDI controllers now available Fender have just announced that the two new performance-focused controllers that were unveiled at NAMM 202...

06/08/2026

Lewitt update Space Replicator plug-in

Standalone version, performance improvements & more Lewitt have just released a significant update for their speaker and room virtualisation software, intro...

06/08/2026

Hallowed Bells from ebbandflow

Combines celeste samples with synth engine After launching earlier in 2026 with deFORM, ebbandflow have returned with their first sampled acoustic instrumen...

06/08/2026

SGL Carbon: Still on track to meet its 2026 annual targets

SGL Carbon's consolidated sales in the first half of 2026 totaled 394.2 million, down 13.0% from the prior year (H1 2025: 453.2 million). On the one hand,...

06/08/2026

BritBox & BBC's Poirot Origin Series Hercule' Reveals Cast

The BBC has announced casting for the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited. Joining Bluemel are Henry Ashton (A ...

06/08/2026

FCC Votes to Modify TV Station Ownership Caps

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/08/2026

LTN Showcases Live Event Master Control Capabilities for...

Proven offering builds on more than 20,000 live sporting events with greater automation, flexibility, and operational control LTN , the industry leader in tran...