Verimatrix Inc.: View from the Top 2013
What’s Your Security Strategy for OTT Video?
Effectively providing revenue security for services across multiple delivery platforms can be a challenge – in a recent survey by StreamingMedia.com and Unisphere Research, 48 percent of media executives ranked digital rights management (DRM) as the largest single business-related issue for multi-screen service delivery today. Yet close to one-third of respondents indicate they do not know their strategy for managing DRM across different networks and devices.
As operators increasingly adopt over-the-top (OTT) video services to enhance their service offerings, a unified DRM strategy is becoming critically important to not only increase revenue security, but also enhance the total user experience (UX).
Such a strategy is characterized by the transition from a security architecture with DRM technologies in multiple competing “silos” to a more unified approach across network types and stream formats. The foundation of such an approach is that the typical DRM silos are unified via a higher-level, cross-DRM “rights management” abstraction, which enables the DRM servers to operate unimpeded.
This type of approach can be augmented by the adoption of a non-proprietary, open DRM framework. Operators are already moving toward standards centric encryption models such as that specified by the DASH Industry Forum. Common standards are particularly attractive as it offers operators an ideal mix of unification and flexibility; media delivery formats are unified and device authentication and key management processes for secure delivery remain flexible. In addition, this type of standardization can greatly accelerate the growth of new services and revenue streams for operators by opening up the universe of multi-network, multi-screen delivery to a new range of standards-compliant smart CE devices. This is critical as the OTT landscape will encompass an ever-increasing number of device types.
Taking a unified approach to security will enhance operators’ ability to reach these devices and provide subscribers with access to the content they crave. A unified security strategy based on an open DRM scheme can easily address the unique requirements of different devices types. Operators also have the potential to open up the universe of multi-network, multi-screen delivery, and greatly accelerate the growth of new revenue streams based on this paradigm.
To access the StreamingMedia.com survey and report, “OTT Video: Coming to a Paid Channel Near You,” visit www.streamingmedia.com/VMXOTTReport
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