Abu Dhabi Media Company appoints Irdeto to help protect Barclays Premier League programming
Irdeto's state-of-the-art Conditional Access and Smartcard technology will be used for subscription-only AD Sports channels
Abu Dhabi, 9 February 2011 — Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) is currently protecting and securing all its Barclays Premier League programming through industry-leading technology provided by Irdeto, a global software security and media technology company.
Irdeto has provided its Conditional Access System 3 (CAS) and the smart cards that are inserted into high definition (HD) set-top boxes, which allow satellite TV customers to access ADMC’s Premier League programming on the AD Sports (Al Riyadiya) channels.
From 2010, ADMC has held the exclusive broadcast rights to the Premier League for three seasons. The Irdeto deal lasts for the duration of the contract and is a significant step in ensuring the content is securely protected and only accessible to legitimate subscribers.
Karim Sarkis, ADMC's executive director for broadcast, said the Irdeto deal is one of many partnerships that has been forged with the world's leading organizations in the field of pay TV.
He said: "To enhance viewers' enjoyment of the best football league in the world, we provide the best and most comprehensive programming this region has seen. But piracy is still an issue for this industry, and Irdeto's security measures help prevent the theft of our content. In turn, this allows us to continue to invest in delivering quality coverage to our customers."
David Canellos, SVP Sales and Marketing at Irdeto, said: “ADMC has changed the pay-TV landscape in the Middle East and Irdeto is proud to be the chosen partner for two essential parts of the overall system, namely, the conditional access and the subscriber management systems. Irdeto's CAS 3 includes state-of-the-art hardware platform, software technology and cryptography, making it among the most secure and renewable conditional access (CA) solutions on the market today.
"Irdeto's CAS 3 also provides renewable security by updating smart cards over the air via its FlexiFlash technology. A built-in mechanism enables operators to quickly respond to piracy, allowing for security and functionality changes to the smart card software. This avoids the operational costs usually associated with smart card exchange and increases the speed of deployment of piracy counter measures. The deal with ADMC has reinforced Irdeto's leadership in content protection and security confirming its commitment to the growing Middle East and North African pay-TV market."
This deployment is the first in the region which tackles the card sharing piracy from the start. It was made possible by the utilization of secure chipsets in the set-top boxes and encryption technology from Irdeto.
Since the start of the season in August of 2010, fans have had three ways to watch the Premier League: on satellite TV; through local IPTV (cable) providers; or on the Internet through an online subscription. The satellite TV option is used by the majority of ADMC's customers and requires a satellite feed, an HD set-top box and a smart card.
The Irdeto cards are sold with HD boxes and sold separately to those who already own compatible HD boxes. When the cards are inserted into the boxes, they can then be activated with a simple phone call to allow customer access to all 380 Premier League matches live and in HD as well as a number of channels containing 24/7 programming.
The Barclays Premier League
The Barclays Premier League consists of 20 football clubs and is regarded as the world's best league football competition. ADMC has secured the live and exclusive television and digital broadcast rights for the Premier League for the next three seasons. The games will be available to viewers across the region on encrypted AD Sports (Al Riyadiya) channels which will be accessible via a high-definition set-top box, IPTV (cable), and streaming via broadband Internet.
Abu Dhabi Media Company
Abu Dhabi Media Company is one of the fastest growing, multi-platform media organizations in the region created in 2007 as a public joint stock company from the assets of Emirates Media Incorporated.
Abu Dhabi Media Company owns and operates a range of television channels (Abu Dhabi Al Oula, Abu Dhabi Al Emarat, Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya, Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya 2, Abu Dhabi +1 and National Geographic Abu Dhabi), and a network of radio stations (Abu Dhabi FM, Emarat FM, Star FM, Holy Quran FM, and Abu Dhabi Classic FM), as well as number of publications (Al Ittihad newspaper, The National newspaper, Zahrat Al Khaleej magazine and Majid magazine), and a number of other media related businesses, including Imagenation Abu Dhabi that develops, finances and produces full length feature films and digital content for Arabic and international markets; LIVE which owns a fleet of outdoor HD broadcast vans; and United Printing Press, a state of the art printing press. ADMC's Digital Group operates several digital assets including Getmo Arabia, goalarabia.com, and super.ae. In 2009 it formed two significant partnerships: VEVO, the online music video platform with Universal Music Group and Sony Music, and a first in the region MMOG joint-venture with Gazillion Entertainment.
Abu Dhabi Media Company employs 2174 people across its operating units, which include Publishing, Broadcast, Digital media, Distribution, and Printing.
The company is headquartered in Abu Dhabi with offices in Cairo, Dubai and Washington D.C.
Irdeto
Irdeto is the most innovative software security and media technology company in the world. Through its diversified, renewable security, and monetization technologies, the company allows new forms of distribution for broadcast /broadband/mobile entertainment, and for the world's most popular app, estores and consumer devices. Co-headquartered in Amsterdam and Beijing, Irdeto employs 1000 people in 25 locations around the world. It is a subsidiary of multinational media group Naspers (JSE: NPN).
For further information about Irdeto please contact:
Racepoint Group for Irdeto
Lucie Smith
Tel: +44 (0) 208 811 2474
Email: IrdetoUK@racepointgroup.com
