FRIEND MTS AND AGILETV INTEGRATE CDN WATERMARKING TO SPEED ANTI-PIRACY DEPLOYMENTS

Friend MTS and AgileTV have completed the first integration of AgileTV’s content delivery network (CDN) with Friend MTS’ server-side watermarking technology, allowing operators to deploy premium content protection more quickly.

The pre-integrated solution combines Friend MTS’ watermarking platform with the AgileTV CDN, enabling operators using either technology to add the other with reduced integration effort. The companies say the approach is designed to accelerate deployment while maintaining video quality for premium live sports and entertainment services.

When combined with Friend MTS’ piracy monitoring platform, the solution enables operators to identify subscriber accounts used to source illegal streams and, if required, automatically disable those accounts in real time.

The integration uses server-side A/B watermarking, with the AgileTV CDN generating uniquely watermarked streaming sessions based on subscriber session tokens. This allows pirated streams to be traced back to individual subscriber accounts without affecting the viewing experience.

The companies will demonstrate the joint solution at IBC2026, showing how subscriber-level watermarking supports rapid piracy detection and enforcement.

This announcement reflects a wider industry trend towards embedding content protection directly into video delivery infrastructure rather than treating it as a separate system.

Server-side watermarking has become increasingly important as sports rights holders demand stronger anti-piracy measures. Unlike DRM, which aims to prevent unauthorised access, forensic watermarking enables operators to identify the source of leaked streams after they appear online.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com