Irdeto launches first government-approved DRM for China

Irdeto Launches First Government-approved DRM Solution in China

CHINA — CCBN — Irdeto, a world leader in digital platform security, has launched Irdeto Rights with China DRM support, the first-ever Chinese government-approved and Hollywood studio validated digital rights management (DRM) solution. The launch of this solution stands to transform China’s over-the-top (OTT) video market and is offered together with Irdeto Tracemark forensic watermarking. Irdeto’s solution for China DRM is fully compliant with the standards of The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT).

The Chinese movie market is the second largest in the world today, with box office revenue for 2015 reaching more than 44 billion RMB. It is expected to exceed 60 billion RMB in 2016, becoming the largest market in the world. Irdeto Rights, which meets the standards set by Hollywood studios, will secure premium video delivery with China DRM so that it can be offered to the Chinese OTT audience and open up the market potential.

“When compared to the movie market, the OTT market in China has great potential for growth. This potential is driven by the huge base of the Chinese population and its demand for new movies, but a key concern from Hollywood is providing a high level of security for the release of premium video in China,” said Doug Lowther, CEO, Irdeto. “Irdeto Rights with support for China DRM will change all of this. The solution will provide a secure platform that will protect content and allow for tracing and addressing piracy. This enables high definition content, including UHD and 4K, to be offered to the Chinese audience, which will facilitate the rapidly growing demand for OTT premium content.”

“With the Chinese OTT market expected to account for 80% of Asia Pacific’s OTT video consumption market by 2020, there will be a strong requirement for services and solutions that reduce the impact of piracy on the market,” said Marco Xie, Country Manager, China, Irdeto. “Irdeto Rights is in line with the government’s TVOS2.0 standard, and we are confident that in combination with Tracemark forensic watermarking, China’s OTT platform security can meet both local and international standards. We are providing studios and content providers with greater confidence to enter the Chinese market and helping operators manage technology costs while maintaining a world class level of security.”

With Irdeto’s support of China DRM, the Chinese market is set to benefit in two key areas. According to IHS, China is currently the largest 4K market in Asia and accounts for over half of the global demand for 4K TV shipments worldwide. With Irdeto Rights, operators will be able to securely offer consumers access to high definition content including UHD and 4K, improving overall viewer experience. With higher security for delivery platforms, content owners can also accelerate the release of new content, allowing consumers to view their desired content in line with international release dates.

Irdeto’s solution will also allow Chinese OTT operators to detect and fight piracy. Irdeto has had the opportunity to provide many Hollywood studios and operators with forensic watermarking and tracing capabilities to identify pirated sources. By offering a combined China DRM management and watermarking solution for the Chinese market, Irdeto offers content owners an end-to-end solution to secure their content with a world class Chinese standard. Moreover, Irdeto’s end-to-end solution provides valuable insights to content owners and distributors to better understand market demand and adjust their offerings to consumer trends.

Irdeto Rights is currently designed to support set-top boxes and mobile devices to cater to multiscreen viewer preferences. Irdeto has also been working closely with TVOS and system-on-chip (SoC) providers to provide hardware trusted execution environment (TEE) based solutions to give operators more control and confidence to launch high value services.

To learn more about Irdeto Rights, China DRM support and Irdeto Tracemark, a demo will be available at Irdeto’s booth in the Chairman Room, Radisson SAS Hotel at China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) 2016, which takes place from 24-26 March 2016 in Beijing, China.