27 TECHFEED Content Security
study, undertaken by Parks Associates, forecasts that in 2021 $9.9bn of pay TV revenues and $1.2 bn of OTT revenues will be sacrificed to credentials-sharing alone. By its very nature, the problem is – and will remain – a moving target. “As companies deploy technology to prevent attacks in one area of their business, threat actors will find another way of achieving their goals,” notes Munford. So, for content creators and their technology partners there is a continual need to pursue an effective dual strategy: ensuring they suppress existing threats, and working to add capabilities that allow potential emerging risks to be conquered. EVOLVING CHALLENGE Josh Smith, director of the TV Services Division at football governing body FIFA, underlines the extent to which major organisations must take an all- encompassing approach to content protection, that also takes account of the changing viewing patterns of sports fans. “FIFA, like all premium sports rights holders, takes content protection and piracy concerns very seriously,” says Smith. “We work with a number of leading companies in the areas of satellite encryption, internet streaming and social media rights protection to
ensure that FIFA’s IP is well-protected across all content delivery mechanisms. As these evolve – eg 5G – we expect fan expectations to increase; they will want to be able to see content whenever/wherever they like, and FIFA is working hard to ensure that fans find legitimate content as quickly and efficiently as possible.” The organisation has extensive ‘where to watch’ promotions on its own and third-party platforms, and works with broadcasters “to minimise the number of steps” required for fans to access official content. “The nature of content protection for premium sports,” adds Smith, “will always be an evolving challenge that is best addressed with a combination of market-leading anti-piracy technologies, alongside innovative initiatives to serve fans with legitimate content in an efficient way.” COMBATING CREDENTIALS-SHARING Among the leading vendors currently addressing informal sharing is video software provider Synamedia, whose Credentials Sharing Insight solution was launched at CES 2019. Citing research by Magid that 26% of millennials share passwords for video streaming services, Synamedia has responded by devising a solution that uses AI, behaviour analytics and machine learning to identify, monitor
SINCE ONLINE ACCESS TO VIDEO CONTENT HAS BECOME MUCH EASIER… THE EFFORT OF FINDING AN ILLEGAL COPY IS OFTENMUCH HIGHER THAN THE IMMEDIATE COSTS TO LEGALLY OBTAIN A COPY
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