Since the explosion of OTT content, pirate networks around the world have also focused on this sector. For entertainment companies, OTT subscriptions are a great moneymaker, but there is also a growing risk of losing a significant portion of this revenue due to hacking, stealing of credentials, piracy, and other illegal activities. OTT companies use a variety of methods to protect their video streams, primarily by sending DRM protected content to the user’s device.
Although pirate networks have improved their methods of illegally accessing and distributing this content over the years, they have also learned to use their own networks to do so. Their mainstay is the creation of alternative IPTV platforms and the charging of a subscription fee per user in the manner of legitimate OTT networks. Pirate networks, on the other hand, know that their content is sought after because of its low cost, which drives traffic to their websites and apps. As a result of all of this traffic, advertisers can reach their target market for less money when using these websites. Advertisement revenue, especially on pirate networks that provide their content for free, is a major source of profit for these websites.
While advertising and subscriptions are obvious ways for pirates to make money, they also deal in a more dangerous practise as well. Personal information (PII) of users who visit their network sites is collected and sold on the dark web by these individuals User behaviour and ad consumption data, as well as more sensitive information, such as user credentials, credit card numbers, etc. Users’ finances are clearly jeopardised when their personal information is compromised in this way.
Also, pre-loaded devices have become increasingly common over the years. A set-top box with a slew of add-ons that facilitates the purchase of illegally obtained movies and TV shows. In the event that law enforcement discovers illegal content, it will be difficult to shut down the piracy due to the device-based approach.
Users must be aware of how pirates can sell their data and offer cheap services only for a larger gain, but content producers want to not only plug their revenue leakage to the piracy ecosystem, but they also don’t want their content to be used for PII compromises. Their anti-piracy strategy includes the use of video watermarking and multi-DRM services.
The use of a trusted security vendor allows content creators to embed virtually undetectable forensic watermarks into video frames, which are both difficult to attack and resistant to re-encoding processes. User devices are protected from pirated content thanks to an advanced watermark. It is possible for a content owner to use the vendor’s watermark database to identify the device from which an illegal piece of content was leaked so that it can take appropriate action against the offender.
Hollywood studios expect OTT platforms to implement not only multi-DRM measures, but also a powerful forensic-watermarking option, enabling their anti-piracy teams to quickly discover how and from which users their premium content is pirated. Service providers that offer both services can be found in SaaS providers that also maintain a database of watermarks.