As operators extend or migrate their service to an IP environment new challenges arise. Unlike traditional linear TV, the network and endpoint devices are not controlled by the operator, opening them up to new threats and challenges.
Tim Pearson, Senior Director, Product Marketing at NAGRA recently spoke to IABM TV to explain these challenges, and the unique approach NAGRA has developed to help operators overcome them.
What are the main security challenges facing service providers who want to launch or extend OTT and D2C offerings?
The biggest challenge facing service providers and content owners with D2C offerings stems from today's landscape. Very different from a more traditional service delivery model, the migration to an IP environment is creating a mounting list of security challenges.
Whereas operators previously had an effective line of sight to the set-top box at the end of their network - all of which they could relatively easily manage - this migration to IP means the content goes through more of a maze, with the route to delivery less known. As a result, more threats can appear, there are more security challenges, which in turn opens up a significant number of new challenges that may have been unknown previously.
How can service providers move from protecting content to protecting their entire service? What's wrong with using existing DRMs?
Existing DRMs can and will continue to protect content. However, that only provides the content protection aspect of the security makeup. An IP distribution model has significantly more surface area than we would have seen in a more traditional broadcast environment. The result is that, as the content journeys through that maze of delivery, there is a greater potential for security threats and pirates along the way.
Whilst content protection mechanisms, such as DRM, will secure the content on the end device, it is liable to be intercepted along the way. Operators therefore require a comprehensive security strategy, such as secure clients, mitigating threats, good intelligence, and what to do in a legal environment, to ensure that that IP capability is protecting the service as well as the content. NAGRA's approach is a proposition we call active streaming protection.
What are some of the different tools within Active Streaming Protection providers can use to protect their services?
Active Streaming Protection is an approach that NAGRA has identified to help operators embrace the OTT world, particularly as more extend into D2C services. Within the toolset of active streaming protection secure clients are certainly important, but it depends on the operator's content catalogue to identify the next level of protection they want to add to address new threats.
If, for example, an operator has premium sport or the content owners are mandating the use of watermarking technology, there is a suite of NexGuard forensic watermarking solutions available to fit their specific requirements. Another operator may be facing challenges from pirates, or believe they are facing a threat of piracy. NAGRA Anti-Piracy Services will show where those threats are coming from, the type of the threat, and the proposed protective and mitigative actions to take.
Active streaming protection is not just about defence though. The offence - delivering the additional business value - deploys a series of business logic tools to identify what solution will work best for both the consumer and operator, for example considering the number of devices per account or the level of concurrency.
All of these solutions are bound with and feed into an overall analytics solution that is pulling in all the data from the different tools that are being deployed, enabling operators to gain a holistic view across their service to understand its status effectively. Combined, all of these tools can form the overall security strategy, helping operators to understand how they can secure the entire service in a pragmatic way that will mitigate the threats to the offering.
Has the framework been deployed with any operators?
We're seeing a great reaction to our active streaming protection approach with our customers and the wider market. Many like the straightforward way in which it provides them with a clear strategy to protect their service and how the approach means it can be tailored directly to their needs.
Since September 2019 we have been working with Wynk, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, India's largest integrated telecoms company, to secure its Airtel Xstream app as it expands. To date, over 1.5 billion multi-DRM licenses have been served via the NAGRA cloud.SSP to manage concurrent sessions, device authentication, forensic watermarking, anti-piracy services and other important aspects of the service - all key elements of the active streaming protection toolset.
This milestone also marks a record number of multi-DRM licenses served by NAGRA cloud.SSP, and is a clear demonstration of how the right solutions can help reduce complexity, seamlessly scale, react to the needs of consumers and connect consumers to the content they love on any device - and in a highly secure environment.
We're also working with an entertainment provider in the USA and a sports league in Europe, with more to be announced soon.
If the service changes or grows, what options are available to service providers in order to stay protected?
That's the beauty of active streaming protection. The approach allows us to turn on new technologies for the operator as the service grows. Starting with multi-DRM or watermarking as a baseline, you can start adding new capabilities as required. Crucially, this means that we can unlock and enable new technologies for operators as their business needs it.
From a value perspective, active streaming protection means operators don't necess
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
04/03/2026
For many fans, a song's backstory can be just as compelling as the final pro...
04/03/2026
In 2006, Spotify was founded on the belief that technology could bring artists a...
04/03/2026
Spotify is back on the ground for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and we&#...
04/03/2026
Spotify had an energizing week in Sydney, Australia, filled with powerful conver...
04/03/2026
Earlier this year, we launched Directed By, a documentary-style series that pull...
04/03/2026
KT and Rohde & Schwarz to showcase AI-enhanced radio transmission performance In a joint 6G AI proof-of-concept demonstration, the CMX500 one-box tester from ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, 3 March 2026 - SES S.A. has today published its 2025 Annual Report, following the announcement of the company's full year financial results for ...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON Partners with GSMA Innovation Fund to Accelerate Digital Innov...
04/03/2026
04 Mar 2026
VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open...
04/03/2026
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Sky Sports unveils plans for 2026 Formula 1 coverage
Sky Sports is preparing for one of the most highly anticipated F1 seasons in recen...
03/03/2026
For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...
03/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...
03/03/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
03 Mar 2026
VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infra...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Sky releases official trailer for The Miniature Wife, a Sk...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary ...
03/03/2026
Tuesday 3 March 2026
The Dyers' Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky
The Dyers' Caravan Park
JPEG (510KB)
Sky books a ...
03/03/2026
Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Simplifies Network Operations, Lowers Hardware Dependency and Enables Seamless DOCSIS and Fiber Growth SAN JO...
03/03/2026
Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for plannin...
03/03/2026
Self-taught on iMovie, Hanagami transitioned to Final Cut Pro in 2009, discovering that professional tools could give him full creative control over how his wor...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
27/02/2026
Since its inception, Gorillaz has been known for blending art with genre-bending...
27/02/2026
This week, Spotify introduced Audiobook Charts for the U.S. and U.K. The charts make it easy to discover your next favorite book by showing what's popular a...
27/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Viasat to collaborate on NB-NTN IoT test plan for connectivi...
27/02/2026
In media technology, big features often steal the spotlight - AI integrations, cloud transformations, automation frameworks. But for the people who use these to...
27/02/2026
Digital Asset Management systems sit at the heart of most marcoms operations. They centralise content, organise it, and make it discoverable. Integrated with th...
27/02/2026
The AI Wild West comes to NAB 2026 and Blue Lucy is bringing the Sheriff
The AI Wild West is here, and media organisations are feeling the heat. On Booth W23...
27/02/2026
A deeply personal, uncompromising portrait of the legendary punk rock iconFriday...
27/02/2026
One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...
27/02/2026
Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3
From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...
27/02/2026
Note: English version included below the Irish language version.
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT
A Ghaeilge mo cheol th '
T feachtas athnuaite i n...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz awarded contract by Israel Airports Authority for QPS201 securit...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz highlights its unique CMX500 one-box tester tailored for NTN tes...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz high-efficiency transmitter powers next-gen broadcast services i...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz highlights its comprehensive embedded systems test solutions at ...
26/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase spectrum security and network efficiency solutions a...
As operators extend or migrate their service to an IP environment new challenges arise. Unlike traditional linear TV, the network and endpoint devices are not controlled by the operator, opening them up to new threats and challenges.
