Doubts are being expressed about whether the ad-supported free-to-view model can be relied upon to fund the introduction of multi-platform services. The way print publishing has cannibalized some of its revenues with free content has been noted, and so too have the decisions by major publishers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to start charging for online journalism.
Steve Christian, Vice President of Marketing at content security provider Verimatrix, is among those predicting a shift in emphasis towards paid premium online content. And he believes this represents a great opportunity for Pay TV operators to perform the same role for online content that they do today on their television platforms: provide the single billing relationship with consumers that gives them access to the content they want.
He predicts the pre-eminence of brands that people trust with their credit cards. “If I had to enter my credit card details every time I wanted to watch a pay per view movie that would not be a satisfying experience. So you want someone that you can trust, who holds the subscriber relationship, and want that to be the case for all the niche content you can get on the web as well as for mainstream cable channels.”
Christian believes Pay TV operators can take on the role of trusted aggregator for web content, including taking care of micro-payments. “If the Pay TV operators execute on this strategy, they have just moved their brand from the television in the living room and maybe bedroom to the games console and mobile phones,” he says.
In terms of content security, vendors like Verimatrix need to enable the multi-platform service provider to authenticate non-Pay TV devices, so the operator knows who is connected to the service and what content rights they have. And when the content is delivered to a legitimate subscriber, the security system has to ensure there is no unauthorised sharing.
Verimatrix believes its VCAS 3 product provides the foundation for Pay TV operators to evolve into multi-platform service providers. This solution takes care of over-the-top video as well as one-way DVB broadcast and two-way IP based managed video services. A major feature of VCAS 3 is the use of Adaptive Streaming to target PCs, games consoles and handheld devices.
Christian says the most important requirement for Verimatrix is to support multi-platform delivery using a single content authority headend. This means you have one view of the subscriber and one view of the devices in the subscriber domain. There is one set of entitlements to content that is viewed through different delivery mechanisms. You should be able to purchase in one place and have the subsequent rights applied in another.
This unified approach is an important theme for multi-platform content security strategies. NDS provides a range of security solutions to support different devices, including VideoGuard Mobile TV to secure mobile broadcast and on-demand video. In addition, the company’s NDS Unified Headend provides a business management platform for all services that is pre-integrated with all its VideoGuard security solutions. This headend controls content flow to all devices over all networks.
However, according to Jonathan Beavon, Director, Segment Marketing at NDS, most multi-platform services expected to launch are likely to focus on two screens initially. “Although we have designed the Unified Headend for mobile, PC and set-top box, we are finding that RFIs (Requests for Information) focus on no more than two screens that are of interest to an operator.”
The screens being discussed will depend on the operator. It could be a set-top box and mobile or, in the case of an ISP, a PC and mobile device, for example.
According to Christian at Verimatrix, the introduction of multi-platform services could provide the ‘compelling event’ that prompts a television service provider to swap out its security solution. Although his company now provides a one-way DVB broadcast smartcard solution, as well as software-based IP security for managed and unmanaged networks, he believes multi-platform will prompt a migration towards software-based IP security.
With legacy broadcast services to consider, security needs are becoming more complex and vendors need to provide a wider portfolio of products.
Another content security provider, Conax, will introduce a new CA platform at ANGA Cable in May that will support both smartcard and software-based security and which provides a solution for television providers pursuing a multi-platform strategy.
Geir Bjorndal, EVP Products & Marketing at Conax, believes that 80% of television will use broadcast reception for the foreseeable future. He expects IP based content security to become more prevalent as IP video appears on more platforms.
But he says: “In the long term, I think most television operations will be a combination of DVB [one-way broadcast] and IP. Hardware based security is still the most dependable way to protect content.”
Conax is working with service providers and content owners to understand how they view the potential of multi-platform TV, or ‘TV everywhere’ concepts. “There is still some uncertainty about how the content industry views this opportunity – whether they want to rely on the traditional television operators for delivery or if they want to play a significant [distribution] role themselves.”
A key consideration in the Conax product strategy is how significant paid content will become on the Internet. Bjorndal views this as another unknown.
Conax wants to be able to contribute to a solution for the studios and this is likely to include a solution for over-the-top content to the PC. “We are working now on a hardware independent solution for the PC, which is something that will be attractive in the PC market,” he explains.
Ivan Verbesselt, SVP Marketing at Nagravision, says that when it comes to Conditional Access systems, any comprehensive solution worthy of the name cannot afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach. It will have to combine hardware and software security technologies in varying degrees. The correct approach depends on two dimensions: the delivery network (one-way, two-way or intermittent two-way) and the device.
“In this way we'll inevitably need the full spectrum ranging from removable hardware roots of trust (cards, CAMs, dongles) for pure broadcast environments, an embedded root of trust for broadband networks (relying on a secure chipset in the device) up to renewable software security for a PC or a Mac on an IP network.”
Verbesselt adds that Nagravision has active deployments spanning all these use cases with the NAGRA Media ACCESS family.
He suggests that operators benefit from a clean separation between CA delivering rights to the home, and content protection technology (CPT) taking over control for further propagation of the content.
“When delivering the content and rights to the home, the CAS should therefore offer a flexible fan-out point towards different CPT ecosystems,” he says. “This is essentially the approach we have taken with NAGRA Media PRM to give the service provider not only the much-needed interoperability with a level playing field of CE devices, but also independence from all the different standards frameworks and their evolution.”
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About the author
John Moulding joined Videonet as editor at the start of 2010, having spent over 10 years writing about digital TV and the various technologies that have simultaneously disrupted and enriched the television business. With Videonet he is focused on the unstoppable march towards multiplatform, connected and personalized television. John was editor of Cable & Satellite International (now CSI) for six years before helping launch New Video Technology, and helped develop the IPTV World Series conference programmes from 2006-07. At home, he takes a Sky triple-play bundle, watches around one-third of content time-shifted, enjoys BBC iPlayer on television through the Wii, and eagerly awaits the arrival of YouTube on his own TV (the killer TV application for late on a Friday night). He is still loyal to channels - but can also remember when TV shut down after lunch.
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