Farncombe: Growing Opportunities for cardless broadcast security
October 23, 2012
Following the pre-IBC release of selected findings, Digital TV technology consultancy Farncombe has confirmed the availability of a white paper – The Future of Cardless Broadcast Security. This takes an in-depth looks at the trends in technology and cost models that are driving operator requirements for video security in a rapidly-evolving marketplace.
Highlights of the findings include:
- For some operators, there can be real benefits in adopting cardless solutions on one-way networks.
- The total cost of ownership (TCO) for cardless security solutions can, in many cases, provide a distinct advantage for broadcast operators.
- Rapid advances in both the technology of set-top box System on Chip (SoC) devices and the techniques to secure the software that runs on the SoCs are creating highly credible options for broadcast deployments.
The white paper, sponsored by Verimatrix, the specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-screen digital TV services around the globe, also incorporates complementary results from Farncombe’s Security and Piracy Survey conducted in Q3 2012. This polled a panel of more than 200 industry experts including broadcasters, content owners, pay-TV operators, middleware/security vendors and device manufacturers, along with an independent assessment of how operators regard evolving threats to their business.
It emerged that 90 per cent of respondents believe that cardless conditional access (CA) offers advantages in logistics management and the cost of rollout. Overall, the industry believes the piracy threat in increasingly broadband-connected populations will shift from today’s direct attacks on broadcast security systems to Internet redistribution of content streams in the next five years.
The white paper also analyses the TCO of card-based and cardless CA for pay-DTH operators and the impact of potential piracy attacks. It contains observations on how market changes are affecting the nature of piracy threats, and the rise of content redistribution as a specific threat, as well as including a checklist for operators considering buying cardless solutions especially when planning to roll out multi-screen services.
“This paper is an important commentary on how technology and piracy developments in the industry are changing perceptions of cardless security systems and their suitability within one-way broadcast networks,” stated Andrew Glasspool, managing partner at Farncombe and one of the authors of the white paper. “The shifts we are seeing in broadcast security, taken in conjunction with the rapid evolution of hybrid network services, illustrate how rapidly companies must evolve to protect pay-TV revenue streams.”