Irdeto to Secure First Ukrainian Satellite DTH Service

[BGonaSTICK]

Irdeto; the proven expert in content security for digital TV, IPTV and mobile; today announced that Ukrainian satellite operator Poverkhnost has selected its Irdeto Digital TV content security solution to secure the country’s first direct-to-home (DTH) network.

The Poverkhnost DTH service will feature exclusive sports programming in both standard and high definition (HD). The company holds Ukrainian distribution rights for nearly all popular sports segments, including ice hockey, boxing, football, including such tournaments as UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Premier League, Serie A, Primera Division, Bundesliga.

Poverkhnost plans to distribute more than 50 standard and 2-3 HD channels to its subscribers, and foresees expanding in the near future. The service will include Poverkhnost’s five self-produced sporting channels – Sport 1, Sport 2, Sport 3, Sport 4 and Sport HD.

“Poverkhnost gained popularity for its exclusive coverage of top sporting events,” said Viktor Samoylenko, President of Poverkhnost Group. “As our greatest asset, Poverkhnost must vigorously protect our high-value content, which is why we chose Irdeto - we trust their proven record in content security and aggressive anti-piracy strategies to ensure our business is successful.”

“Access to premium sporting events is a major driver for Pay TV service adoption across the globe,” said Doug Lowther, vice president of sales and marketing for Irdeto. “With more piracy-free years and fewer smart card swaps than any other vendor, Irdeto’s industry-leading conditional access (CA) technology not only protects premium content services, but gives operators the highest return on investment in the industry.”

The Poverkhnost network consists of a Tandberg headend with content streaming over MPEG-4 HD equipment. Homecast set-top boxes are being distributed to subscribers, with plans to offer Thomson, HUMAX and Topfield in the future. All Poverkhnost STBs will utilize Irdeto’s secure silicon solution to prevent emerging forms of piracy like internet card sharing, as well as regionalization of the STB and smartcards to prevent theft and fraud.

The Poverkhnost DTH satellite network is based in Ukraine with plans for future growth across Eastern Europe. Specific target markets include Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It is expected to launch officially in October 2007.

Source: Irdeto