M'sia is second in Southeast Asia for content piracy: Irdeto

SINGAPORE: Malaysia recorded the second largest share of content piracy in Southeast Asia at 17% for the first quarter of 2016, second to the Philippines, says Irdeto, a world leader in digital platform security.
"Content piracy ignores traditional geographical divides and boundaries. Even in countries with relatively strong legislation, content providers are still faced with piracy issues," Irdeto Vice president and general manager, South East Asia, Jerry Park told Bernama in an email interview.
Park said nascent markets like Malaysia usually have high levels of piracy, which commonly occurs in the form of digital video discs (DVDs), using virtual private networks (VPNs) and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
"There is also a low level of acceptance of paying for content in these markets," he said.
Park noted that over-the-top (OTT) service providers will struggle to compete with illegal sites and providers in terms of content.
The Malaysian market, he noted, is dominated by Astro, a prominent satellite pay TV operator that offers Astro on the Go, an OTT service offering that Irdeto has been supporting since 2012.
"As we increasingly see more new OTT services being launched in Malaysia and the region, content offering and content security will become important factors that help OTT players differentiate from each other," he said.
Irdeto is working with pay-media operators, content creators, software application providers and connected device manufacturers to protect valuable digital assets for nearly 50 years.
Asked how Irdeto can help content providers secure their content, Park said the company provides solutions and services that enable content owners and providers to securely deliver media across all screens and devices in and out of the home.
One of its solutions, Irdeto Rights, helps to strengthen a content provider's business model by reinforcing the content protection of the OTT service offered.
"This helps content providers to meet licensing requirements for premium content and simplify OTT operations across an increasingly complex ecosystem," Park said.
Another solution, Irdeto Tracemark forensic watermarking, allows content owners and licensees to quickly trace the source of content piracy and take the necessary actions to stop illegal distribution.
"It is worth emphasising that often consumers watch pirated content out of frustration that their chosen programme is not available in their region.
"Using Irdeto's Online Piracy Detection, operators are able to use the piracy intelligence to see what is popular in their region and can guide their content acquisition strategy to ensure that they meet their consumers' demands," he said.
Irdeto is participating at the four-day 27th International Communications and Information Technology Exhibition & Conference 2016 (CommunicAsia 2016) being held here until June 3. — Bernama