IMTV Partners with Irdeto to Launch New 'BigTV' Service

SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Irdeto on Monday announced that IMTV, the new broadcasting arm of Indonesia's Lippo Group, has selected Irdeto Media Protection to securely deliver digital television content over BIGTV, a new premium direct-to-home (DTH) satellite service launched this month. BIGTV uses IMTV’s own satellite system to deliver more than 300 channels, featuring over 150 content providers to subscribers across Indonesia. The launch has positioned IMTV as one of the largest media networks in Asia, Irdeto said in a statement. To secure premium content on BIGTV, IMTV is relying on Irdeto Cloaked CA, the most advanced and most widely deployed cardless conditional access solution for pay TV operators worldwide. By replacing the need for smart cards, Cloaked CA eliminates the operational and logistics costs that would otherwise be required to ship and manage cards, thus significantly lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) for IMTV. IMTV chief executive officer Felix Ali Chendra said: "Pay TV market penetration is only four percent out of 40 to 45 million television households in Indonesia, so the growth opportunity is tremendous. "We selected Irdeto because they are the leader in pay TV security in South East Asia and have an excellent track record of working with leading operators and broadcasters across the world. As a new entrant in Indonesia's competitive and vibrant pay TV market, that is precisely the kind of experience and knowledge we were looking for." Analyst firm Pyramid Research forecasts pay TV penetration in Indonesia to increase to nearly seven percent by 2015. Given this growth curve, IMTV is targeting 10 million subscribers over the next five years. BIGTV presents subscribers with a wide selection of channels including specialised offerings such as dialect language programmes and niche sports telecasts – the kind of programming that competing DTH service providers do not currently offer in the market. As a software security solution, Irdeto Cloaked CA can be easily updated over the air to renew security or add new features, giving IMTV the necessary agility and flexibility to trial new services and payment options while ensuring the best protection for its content and revenue. This equates to choice and convenience for IMTV customers. "The potential for growth in the Indonesian market is substantial and IMTV is well positioned to capitalise on that growth with BIGTV," said Bengt Jonsson, APAC vice president (Sales). He said Irdeto Cloaked CA enabled IMTV to launch a wide variety of premium entertainment with full confidence that its business model and revenue was protected. "We are pleased that IMTV has selected Irdeto Cloaked CA and look forward to working closely together to develop this exciting new offering in market," he added. Since launching Cloaked CA in 2011, Irdeto has signed more than 30 pay TV customers, including Asia-Pacific operators such as Sky New Zealand, Cable Thai Holdings, Manthan (India), OCN Shanghai, Telekom Malaysia and many more. -- BERNAMA