4K/UHD protection from streaming piracy is now available

Content and revenue protection specialist Friend MTS has launched a 4K/UHD variant of its ASiD subscriber level watermarking service to protect premium sports and entertainment content from streaming piracy sourced from set-top boxes and OTT players.

The ASiD global monitoring and watermarking service is highly-automated to allow scaling for the largest live sports events, which can generate thousands of pirate streams.

By connecting directly with pay-TV operators’ subscriber management systems, ASiD allows thousands of pirate streams to be deactivated within minutes. By preventing content theft, broadcasters and rights owners can maximise their audiences and revenues.

A key service within Friend MTS’s portfolio, the ASiD global channel monitoring uses fingerprint-based content recognition to identify broadcasters’ assets in seconds. This monitoring connects tightly with the invisible watermarking extraction to precisely identify subscribers who are responsible for streaming piracy.

The ASiD service is designed to be highly-customisable, and protects premium assets ranging from live sports to on-demand entertainment.

“With the continuing growth in 4K/UHD channels, typically driven by sports and premium entertainment, there’s a pressing need to secure this content against streaming piracy,” noted Neil Sharpe, Product Marketing Director.

“Live sports is the toughest content genre to protect, due to the scale of the streaming piracy threat and the time dependence of the assets. The highly automated ASiD watermarking is optimised for this environment, and it also delivers the outstanding consumer experience sought by sports rights holders and movie studios,” concluded Sharpe.