BT takes action to combat TV broadcasting piracy

We have stepped up our efforts to combat the illegal piracy of premium subscription-based content through a new partnership with leading video infrastructure company, ATEME. We are using the company’s sophisticated encryption techniques to protect satellite uplinked content in the most secure way possible and will be offering this technology to our customers around the world to help reduce the number of illegal streams.

BT becomes the first in the UK to provide the industry with ATEME’s encoder which uses BISS-CA (Basic Interoperable Scrambling System Conditional Access) encryption. We first used ATEME’s encoder during BT Sport’s transmission of the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 4th August and it has continued to be used to protect each of BT Sport’s Premier League live broadcasts this season.

TV piracy is an escalating problem, and according to anti-piracy company MUSO, nearly 190 billion visits were made to illegal piracy websites last year alone. Of this number, 5.75 billion came from the UK and 17.4 billion from the US. Piracy is especially prevalent in the sports industry and reportedly costs Premier League clubs around £1 million in sponsorship money every game, according to a separate study from MUSO. As the quality of sporting piracy streams continue to improve and hackers are managing to hide their identity, new ways of protecting sporting content are imperative to secure the integrity of the industry.

By using ATEME’s encoder, we will be able to deliver the highest video quality at minimum bitrates with minimum latency, while keeping broadcasts secure. The BISS-CA protocol used in ATEME’s encoder is the perfect match for high quality video transmissions as the secure encryption tool enables broadcasters to protect themselves against piracy. ATEME’s encoder can be used across a variety of systems and software and determines the origin of an illegal stream with content being watermarked. Media rights holders can also grant and revoke receiving rights in real-time, securing broadcasts from the source to its end destination.