By Christine Oury, Sr. Director, Global Field Marketing
It was great to see our industry come back together once again, face-to-face. Taking in the grandness of the new West Hall and being back on the NAB Show floor was an opportunity to reconnect with customers, partners, colleagues and friends - and yes have discussions around the latest innovations across the content value chain. Hosting one of our largest showcases and being able to collaborate - in the same room - with content owners, broadcasters, post-production houses and M&E players – it is safe to say that it was so good be back! Let's hope it's all 'fast-forward' from here (thanks for the inspiration Tesla Loop).
Speaking of looking forward, this year, the NAGRA showcase was focused on innovation and transformation, with solutions from across the Kudelski Group, designed to help the industry securely distribute content from production to delivery. Engaging with clients and prospects, we discussed emerging challenges our industry is facing across the entire content value chain, resulting in the following reoccurring themes dominating conversations at the NAGRA booth:
Content Protection from Production to Distribution:
The industry has seen unprecedented growth of online video services in the last few years. By the end of 2021 there were roughly 1.26Bn global video service subscriptions delivering unique and compelling content to viewers homes.
Unfortunately, this increasing demand coupled with valuable content is attracting the most sophisticated content pirates. In fact, pirate subscription services are now a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. alone. With so much as stake, content owners and service providers need to understand the evolving content security challenges the industry is facing and the serious impact piracy has on their business.
This was a top discussion point at the Anti-Piracy and Content Protection Summit, featuring NAGRA’s David Wurgler, senior director of Business Development and Anti-Piracy, that took place in conjunction the NAB. You can read more in the article, “APCPS 2022: NAGRA Explores How to Turn Chaos Into Calm When Fighting Piracy.”
In short, when it comes to protecting valuable content, a one-dimensional approach will not work. What many don’t realize is that the technology that addresses one security gap often leaves another wide open. A successful strategy needs to include a security ecosystem built up over time contrasted with an innovative approach that provides a holistic view of content and service security. By taking a comprehensive approach, content owners and service providers have the insight needed to uncover and address blind spots, while opening up future growth opportunities.
This is all made possible with NAGRA’s Active Streaming Protection, a framework of tools and technologies designed to securely address the threat of piracy for OTT content and its underlying service – going beyond multi-DRM to secure content, service, and revenue.
Examples of recent work in this area includes clients such as The Hollywood Reporter that is reaping the benefit of NAGRA’s collaboration with Vision Media deliver session-based watermarking and trusted screening solutions to protect content without limits, from pre-release viewing through any point in its lifecycle. You can learn more in our recent eBook, “Always-On Security: Session-Based Watermarking and Trusted Screening Solutions.”
C-Band Spectrum Opportunity - Defining the Future of Satellite Distribution:
Without the proper insights, addressing the transformation of the C-Band spectrum can be challenging. NAGRA has partnered with Harmonic to develop a unique satellite delivery network to seamlessly and securely distribute video services with optimized bandwidth, improved quality and premium content protection. Comcast Technology Solutions has embraced the new technologies to clear the C-Band spectrum successfully while maintaining critical video services quality and resilience to their affiliate partners. They addressed the opportunities this created in a webinar leading up to NAB which you can catch up on here: “Transforming the C-Band Spectrum: CTS and Partners Define the future of Satellite Distribution”.
Fully-Featured Streaming Platform for Content Aggregation, Curation and Monetization:
NAGRA shared its latest news for its solutions to address latest aggregation challenges as operators become digital entertainment hubs. This was highlighted by its recent work with HISPASAT, NAGRA’s latest collaboration in Latin America. The service will enable pay-TV operators, ISPs and regional content companies to offer clients a high-quality multiscreen entertainment service that is distributed through the Internet without having to roll out their own infrastructure. This reduces both the initial investment and the time needed to launch this type of solution.
Opportunities presented by ATSC 3.0/NexGen TV:
As broadcasters seek to expand their revenues with new ATSC 3.0 services, one challenge they face is understanding and mitigating security threats in ways that are often new to them. The truth is, any connected device is susceptible to cyberattacks, service disruptions and hijacking. At NAB, NAGRA and Gaian Solutions showcased the opportunities presented with this technology and demonstrated how new ATSC 3.0 business models can be enabled through secure data broadcast and protection of ATSC 3.0-enabled devices like digital displays, kiosks and digital advertising.
Emerging role of blockchain and NFTs:
The emerging role of blockchain and NFTs to prevent broader cyberattacks across the content distribution chain was another hot topic of conversation. These innovative technologies are paradigm shifts in how content can be managed and protected. Leveraging the collective expertise of other Kudelski Group companies, NAGRA is the only security player with the long-time trusted expertise, technologies and services to protect new forms of digital assets now, and in the future.
Interested in continuing the conversation on any of these topics? Contact us or visit https://dtv.nagra.com/ for more information.