“Extra security
features to detect
hacker and
pirate activity
on zapper
STBs won’t
be effective
in isolation.”
- Rinat Burdo,
Synamedia
Antoine d’Halluin (who spent time as CEO
at OSN from 2006-2010) is Sam Barnett’s
replacement. Barnett stepped down from MBC
in October 2019 after 17 spectacular years at
the broadcaster.
MBC also launched its OTT service Shahid
earlier in 2020. This OTT service had very
much been Sam Barnett’s project. Johannes
Larcher is running the OTT system and there
are plenty of hints that it will partner with
other international OTT services over and
above the deals in place with Disney and Fox.
If things go well, it could very easily topple
OSN and prove for MBC that there is money to
be made out of pay-TV.
SECURITY. But there’s still that threat from
widespread piracy. Synamedia, still well-
remembered by its old name of NDS, says that
piracy isn’t just a big problem for the MENA
region, it’s a global phenomenon but that in
MENA, we’re seeing increasingly sophisticated
attacks as the pirates up their game to exploit
vulnerabilities at every link of the distribution
chain. “Pirates have already outsmarted old
encryption systems such as BISS, so using
strong robust algorithms and the encryption
of control words against CWS is vital,” stresses
Rinat Burdo, senior product manager, video
security at Synamedia. “And encryption alone
isn’t enough. Even adding extra security
features to detect hacker and pirate activity on
zapper STBs won’t be effective in isolation.”
She insists the only way to curb and
confound the pirates is by taking a multi-
layered approach to security at every point
along the video distribution
chain. “Although it’s critical
to protect your service and
content with a very strong
lock on the door, without
the smart technologies and
insight to enable you to detect
and disrupt piracy, the pirates
find other ways in. We need
to combine strong end-to-
end encryption and security
controls at the headend with
hardening of the STB against
tampering and manipulation
and a security agent in the client device
to detect and disrupt leaks. And augment
this with intelligence-based operational
security services that leverage AI and cyber
technologies to map the piracy supply chain
and really get to grips with their criminal
ecosystem so we can disrupt and demotivate
the pirates,” she adds.
“Intelligence, combined with a smart
command and control centre, allows for the
orchestration of anti-piracy activities on
an ongoing basis, by using cyber security
specialists, field and undercover investigators,
as well as forensic and intelligence analysts,
and psychology, criminology, and sociology
experts to monitor and disrupt the piracy
supply chain, globally. But the industry needs
to work together to fight back. Everyone,
including CDN and cloud service providers,
ISPs, payment providers, chip manufacturers,
anti-piracy tool vendors, integrators, rights
owners, streaming providers and legislators –
has to cooperate if we’re going to combat and
outwit piracy.”
CHALLENGES. One of the major names in
the MENA region (and beyond) is Orange-
backed Globecast, and Beirut-based MD
Giorgio Giacomini is very close to events
within the broadcast and transmission market.
He says that the introduction of OTT services
– and the success of brands such as Netflix -
means that everyone is now looking for ways
to incorporate these services and at the same
time to “stop the bleeding of the ad-revenue”
model which is the backbone of the free-to-air
broadcasting model.
“Broadcasters are in bad
“Collection of
shape,” he says. “They have lost
money due is
advertising revenue to digital
very difficult
and they are looking to find ways
and even
to change and restore revenues.
when you have The usual problems still affect
us, such as piracy but now OTT
absolutely
has also to be considered.”
firm and clear
Talking about the revenue
contracts.”
challenges to local satellite
- Georgio
operators – and he knows the
fee structure better than anyone
Giacomini,
– he agrees that Standard
Globecast
Definition is changing to High
Es’hailSat: Handling the
problems
The Qatari owners of Es’hailSat
have the toughest of problems:
they have to serve the complete
– and highly competitive – MENA
broadcasting market, and somehow
or other handle the ultra-sensitive
political problems that target Qatar
from their near neighbours.
Es’hailSat itself is the youngest
and fastest-growing satellite
operator in the MENA region. The
operator launched its second
satellite on a SpaceX rocket in
November 2018. The satellite,
designed and manufactured by
Mitsubishi Electric on its DS-2000
satellite platform, carries both Ku-
and Ka-Band frequency payloads,
proving wide geographical reach
from its home at 25.8 degrees East.
The new craft was speedily
integrated into the fleet and its
first customers included another
fast-growing suite of channels
from Al Kass Media (now up to Al
Kass Eight) as well as TV services
for Syria, Libya and Lebanon and
attractive channels and added to
the channels already on offer on
Es’hail 1 from the likes of National
Geographic, Fox, CNN and CBS. In
total the two satellites are carrying
more than 180 channels.
Es’hail 2 also has plenty of
expansion in place for new
services in HD as well as Ultra-HD.
Remarkably, and because of the
2022 FIFA World Cup, Es’hailSat may
be the very first operator in the
region to supply a wide portfolio
of channels with UHD given that its
core clients include the extremely
comprehensive variety of channels
from beIN Media including beIN
Sports as well as Al Jazeera.
Definition just about everywhere. “Most of
the public channels have now moved to HD
and they have installed HD equipment to
enable productions to be made in HD. This
means that the HD channels are available on
Nilesat and Arabsat, but also for international
distribution. While this move is good for
viewers the broadcasters have generally also
kept their Standard Definition transmissions
which only adds to the overall costs, while
income from advertising remains challenging.
Public broadcasters are helped by their overall
grants from government, but it isn’t easy.”
MENA Special EUROMEDIA 11