Nagra a Kudelski Group company which offers content protection and multiscreen television solutions, has said that its NexGuard watermarking technology has been certified by the ChinaDRM Lab, the standards body that oversees digital rights management in China.

The ChinaDRM Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the technical branch of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT), conducted the compliance process.

ChinaDRM security technology requirements are consistent with those of Hollywood and are recognized by the Hollywood studios and other major content owners.

“We are very excited to pass the ChinaDRM certification and bring a fully compliant and trusted watermarking technology to content owners and OTT service providers at a time when demand for premium OTT content and services in China has never been higher,” said Nagra Anti-Piracy Services and NexGuard CTO Jaap Haitsma.

“Today, with NexGuard’s watermarking technology, they can deliver the next wave of premium content and services, such as early-release VOD, to the growing number of Chinese consumers who subscribe to OTT, while ensuring an unprecedented level of effectiveness in the fight against illegal streaming of their content assets.”

“We would like to thank the Chinese Academy of Sciences for their help and support in the ChinaDRM certification process. Their efforts were invaluable in helping us achieve this recognition,” said Nagra senior VP, chief architect Philippe Stransky.

NexGuard watermarking is part of NAGRA’s portfolio of content value protection technologies that also includes CAS/DRM solutions and anti-piracy services. Together, they help content owners and pay-TV providers protect their premium content investment with Hollywood-approved technologies that meet all the requirements for Enhanced Content Protection as specified by MovieLabs and create the ultimate closed-loop approach to fighting piracy: secure, mark, monitor, identify and act.

According to a recent study by eMarketer, nearly 229 million Chinese consumers will have a paid subscription to a streaming service in 2018 in a market that is estimated to have grown by more than 80 percent in 2017.