According to Ericsson, video streaming accounts for 78% of smartphone data consumption. And that’s just videos streamed from phones.
When you add in viewing from connected TVs, gaming consoles, computers, tablets, and VR headsets, you can see videos being consumed from everywhere and more often. The sad reality is that as video watching goes up, so does piracy.
How CDNs are unknowingly supporting illegal streams
Verimatrix’s security team has learned that approximately 30% of what companies spend on content delivery networks (CDNs) is actually serving pirated content instead of legitimate streams. For some companies, as much as 70% of their CDN costs are coming from piracy! It’s like footing the bill for a personal pickpocket; it’s both shocking and wrong.
So, what’s going on? So, the way we watch videos has changed quite a bit. We’re not just potatoing in front of the TV screen anymore. We’re hosting watch parties on our phones, using tablets to babysit our kids with YouTube videos, and accessing our smart TVs to experience the 5-ringed games in Paris.
Variety has never been better for viewers, but it’s also given pirates more ways to rip content, steal subscriber information, or pilfer ad revenue.
A united effort to combat piracy is needed
One of the biggest challenges in combating piracy is that everyone seems to keep passing the buck. Nobody wants to take full responsibility, so piracy flourishes.
The reality is that solving piracy requires “a village” to solve. Content creators, streaming platforms, content distributors, and more are using old tech combined with bold new solutions to remedy this.
This is where Verimatrix comes in with our Streamkeeper suite. It’s a set of cloud-based tools designed to protect streaming video content with both defensive and offensive countermeasures. Verimatrix Streamkeeper has three main components:
- Multi-DRM: To keep unauthorized users out.
- Counterspy: To protect apps on smartphones, smart TVs, and set-top boxes.
- Watermarking: To help track down where leaks are coming from.
A four-step strategy to combat industrial-scale piracy
To really tackle today’s industrial-scale piracy, Verimatrix suggests a four-step approach:
- Make sure only legit apps can access your high-value content.
- Keep a close eye on what’s happening with your media apps.
- Act quickly when you see signs of trouble.
- Use the newest tools to identify and stop bad guys.
Today’s most effective anti-piracy methods are about building a strong shield that can stand up to whatever pirates throw at it, now and in the future.
Video piracy isn’t going away on its own. But if we work together and use solutions like Streamkeeper, we can make sure that streaming remains a win-win for everyone—except the scallywags.
