Irdeto Digital TV Solution Chosen by NTF for New French Digital Terrestrial Pay Television Service

Leading CA provider further strengthens position in European DTT market

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – IBC 2007 — Irdeto, the proven expert in content security for digital TV, IPTV and mobile, has finalized an exclusive customer agreement with Neotion TNT France (NTF) to provide its Irdeto Digital TV conditional access (CA) solution for NTF’s new digital terrestrial television (DTT) pay TV service in France.

Under terms of the agreement, NTF will license the Irdeto Digital TV solution and integrate it in digital TV sets designed by leading electronics vendors. Robust content security is essential to the success of the NTF DTT service to protect content and broadcast transmissions against unauthorized access. NTF chose Irdeto’s CA system for its proven record of exceptional content security within digital TV networks worldwide.

Registered by the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), the French broadcasting regulator, as an official DTT Pay TV Distributor, NTF intends to play a key role in the promising development of Pay DTT in France. “Neotion started NTF to capitalize on its unique technology and provide an opportunity to deliver digital broadcast offerings in France that meet digital TV legislative requirements,” said Laurent Jabiol, President of NTF. French digital terrestrial pay TV services transmit in MPEG-4, which creates the perfect momentum for NEOTION Pockets – the original MPEG-4 credit card decoder that fits plug-n-play slots in all DTT enabled TV sets, which will be mandatory in the marketplace beginning December 5, 2007 according to French law.

Digital TV set sales are on the rise in Europe and across the globe, spurred by pending analog switch-off deadlines. More than 65 million European households have already transitioned to digital TV services, according to research firm Datamonitor, with growth trends expected to soar through 2010. The research firm expects 187 million digital TV households in Europe and the US by 2010. France has set a 2011 deadline for the country’s analog-to-digital conversion efforts.

“The looming analog switch-off deadlines are pushing operators to invest heavily in network infrastructure to create additional pay TV revenue models,” said Doug Lowther, vice president of sales and marketing for Irdeto. “With nearly 40 years experience in pay TV technology, Irdeto provides a flexible and highly-scalable CA solution to meet the security requirements of both operators and content owners, including NTF, looking to protect their valuable digital assets.”

Currently, sixty percent of French terrestrial households do not subscribe to any pay TV service. NEOTION’s Pocket « plug-and-watch » Technology, tailored for mainstream digital television flat panels, will expose a new array of customers to premium content when they purchase a new TV set. This innovative way of deploying Pay TV in a horizontal market has the opportunity to expand beyond France, into every European country launching DTT.