Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM Deliver New Security Feature for Oscars® Screening Platform

Online screeners are now more secure with forensic watermarking technology enabled by cloud services providers

BOSTON, June 16, 2020 - Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOV), the world’s leading video technology platform, today announced its coordination with NAGRA, the digital TV division of the Kudelski Group, Akamai, the intelligent edge platform for securing and delivering digital experiences, and BuyDRM, a global provider of Digital Rights Management and Content Security Services. The Brightcove platform, NAGRA NexGuard Streaming forensic watermarking, Akamai Adaptive Media Delivery, and the KeyOS MultiKey Service are the technologies behind the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new security feature for the Academy Screening Room, a screening platform for Academy members used as part of the screening process for the Oscars®. 

The valuable new forensic watermarking feature enables the Academy to control piracy across its screening platform by auditing content, as well as tracking down stolen content and distribution channels. This is a significant milestone for the industry as forensic watermarking not only strengthens the security of the Academy’s platform but also deters content piracy as a whole – a challenge the film industry has faced for years, as have content owners and pay-TV operators.

The Academy membership uses its streaming platform to watch movies in consideration for the upcoming award season. The platform allows for desktop and mobile web access, as well as tvOS applications, which were built using Brightcove’s technology. Leveraging leading solutions offered by Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM, the Academy can now prevent its streaming platform users from participating in pirate activity, such as screen recording content, recording with other devices, and removing video clips from Brightcove’s video player. 

Once Brightcove transcodes the content, it is secured using a specific mode of AES encryption, which then travels with the video content as it passes through the internet to the viewer. At playback, the user’s device or PC acquires a DRM license key from the BuyDRM MultiKey Service to begin playback.

The content is stored on and delivered from the Akamai Intelligent Edge platform, which processes and applies the Academy’s unique forensic watermarking pattern per end-user across the delivery workflow. It is integrated with the NAGRA NexGuard Streaming forensic watermarking solution to bring an added level of anti-piracy enforcement and increase the traceability of the Academy’s digital screeners. Thanks to Akamai’s distributed global network, titles are delivered from as close to the viewer as possible, allowing for optimal playback and performance through the Brightcove video player.

“Security is of the utmost importance to the Academy, which led us to partner with Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM as their solutions are the best on the market to protect us against piracy related to the Oscars,” said Bev Kite, Chief Information Officer, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “Forensic watermarking is a significant breakthrough for the Academy, as well as for the entire film industry because it demonstrates how video technologies have evolved to include critical security functionalities that protect against piracy. As a result of our work with Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM, the Academy can continue to deliver content to our members, while strengthening security measures to maintain confidentiality, and protect artists and intellectual property.”

“Leveraging NAGRA’s strong heritage in the media and entertainment industry, we’re honored to be selected by the Academy to enable their transition from physical to digital distribution of movies and ensure their content remains secure at every step of the process,” said Jean-Philippe Plantevin, VP Anti-Piracy, NAGRA. “Our NexGuard Streaming solution is the industry-standard in ensuring the protection of high-value on-demand streaming content. The ability to apply server-side watermarking with no changes to the player enables the widest device and app reach, and allows for seamless and secure digital screeners.”

“The Academy’s forensic watermarking implementation shows how Brightcove, NAGRA, Akamai, and BuyDRM can form an ecosystem that supports enhanced security across the entire content delivery workflow while maintaining the high quality of experience that viewers expect,” said Amit Kasturia, Senior Media Product Manager, Akamai. “These combined capabilities can help protect the Academy against attempts by pirates to steal content and minimize their means of illegal redistribution.”

“BuyDRM takes great pride in working with Brightcove, NAGRA, and Akamai to deliver these security features for the Academy’s secure screener platform,” said Christopher Levy, CEO and Founder, BuyDRM. “Enabling Academy members to securely access these types of high-value premium forensically watermarked experiences is an amazing effort which we are excited to have been a part of.”

“Security is of the utmost importance to organizations today. Given the Academy's prestigiousness, it’s critical for them to rely on service providers that secure their content in a way that the viewing experience isn’t compromised,” said Charles Chu, Chief Product Officer, Brightcove. “At Brightcove, we pride ourselves on our ability to do both, therefore we’re happy we could join forces with Akamai, NAGRA, and BuyDRM to create this complete, all-inclusive security feature that the Academy needs to protect their content. We’re proud that Brightcove’s video technology played such an important role in this collaboration, and we’re excited to see the forensic watermarking security feature come to life for the Academy.” 

About the Academy
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 9,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles. www.oscars.org

About NAGRA
NAGRA, the digital TV division of the Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S), provides security and multiscreen user experience solutions for the monetization of digital media. The company offers content providers and DTV service providers worldwide secure, open and integrated platforms and applications over broadcast, broadband and mobile platforms, enabling compelling and personalized viewing experiences. Please visit dtv.nagra.com for more information and follow us on Twitter at @nagrakudelski and LinkedIn.

About Akamai
Akamai secures and delivers digital experiences for the world’s largest companies. Akamai’s intelligent edge platform surrounds everything, from the enterprise to the cloud, so customers and their businesses can be fast, smart, and secure. Top brands globally rely on Akamai to help them realize competitive advantage through agile solutions that extend the power of their multi-cloud architectures. Akamai keeps decisions, apps, and experiences closer to users than anyone — and attacks and threats far away. Akamai’s portfolio of edge security, web and mobile performance, enterprise access, and video delivery solutions is supported by unmatched customer service, analytics, and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why the world’s top brands trust Akamai, visit www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter.

About BuyDRM
BuyDRM™ is a leading provider of Digital Rights Management and Content Security Services for the entertainment, enterprise and transportation industries. Since the turn of the century, BuyDRM has amassed substantial success stories for many of today’s largest brands. OTT operators, television networks, movie studios, gaming sites and premium content distributors use the BuyDRM award-winning KeyOS Multi-DRM Platform to provide robust content security for their streaming and downloadable video. Customers include Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, Blizzard, EPIX, FuboTV, Rakuten Viki, Sony New Media Solutions, Sony Pictures, Showtime and Zee5. For more information, please visit www.buydrm.com

About Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOV) 
We are the people behind the world’s leading video technology platform. With our award-winning technology and services, we help organizations in more than 70 countries meet business challenges and create strategic opportunities by inspiring, entertaining, and engaging their audiences through video.

Since Brightcove was established in 2004, we have consistently pushed boundaries to create a platform for people who are serious about video: one that is robust, scalable, and intuitive. Benefiting from a global infrastructure, unrivalled customer support, an extensive partner ecosystem, and relentless investment in R&D, Brightcove video sets the standard for professional grade video management, distribution, and monetization. To learn more, visit www.brightcove.com.