Aaarrgh! Piracy is a major issue for the media industry, and it’s a challenge being addressed by Friend MTS, provider of channel content protection. Simon Williamson, Chief Commercial Officer and a speaker at That Big TV Conference September 9-10 in NYC, talked to Cynopsis about the piracy plague, and how companies can batten down the hatches.

 What is the biggest piracy threat for the media business?

In an ever-changing media landscape and with streaming and cord cutting on the rise, piracy continues to pose a threat to high-value premium content ranging from OTT live sporting events to big entertainment premieres and finales. Pirates have become much more sophisticated and require a significantly increased level of technical complexity to defeat them. Friend MTS’ comprehensive, scalable, technology-driven anti-piracy services directly address the surge in streaming piracy that is resulting from the increased availability of piracy devices and apps delivering stolen content.

Is the situation getting better or worse?

Content owners, rights holders and distributors stand to lose potentially billions of dollars in revenue – every year. Friend MTS is unyielding in our belief that content and creativity needs to be protected, and we work tirelessly to ensure our customers’ rights and revenues are safeguarded from piracy 24/7, 365-days a year.  

While the application of anti-piracy measures can be complex, our message is simple. By applying robust technology and process to reduce consumption of pirated content, there will be a corresponding increase in revenue. We see this around the world, and everyone in the ecosystem benefits – from the content originators to the distributors. As piracy remains a threat, our goal is to raise the bar and partner on this complex problem with companies that want to make a difference to their bottom line.