Though Asia Pacific presents many opportunities, it is also particularly challenging when it comes to piracy. In addition to globally popular content, there’s an amazing diversity of content in a variety of languages across the countries and cultures. Then there’s the young demographic that tend to primarily consume content on mobile devices and is somewhat averse to the idea of paying for it.

This leads to the challenges of a very fragmented market and certain viewer behaviours making it even harder for legitimate services to compete against pirates.

In terms of effectiveIP enforcement, each of the different jurisdictions in the region requires a tailored approach underpinned by equally admissible evidence as well as a coordinated effort of a number of different stakeholders.

Leaning on two decades of successful content protection operations, including in some of the most challenging markets, Friend MTS ticks all the boxes by offering proven antipiracy strategies. We provide a range of highly scalable and automated solutions such as content monitoring and enforcement, subscription- and distribution-level watermarking and Dynamic Server blocking, to protect our customers’ revenues. As an innovative technology company, Friend MTS pioneered its dynamic blocking solution that has been disrupting illegal content redistribution for over a decade for our renowned customers.

Friend MTS currently has an impressive list of customers which includes Sky, the Premier League, UEFA, Warner Bros Discovery, BBC Studios, Serie A, WWE, Bell Canada and Rogers Sports & Media. The intention is to grow that list to soon add clients in APAC that will benefit from the company’s reputable expertise. We all know that fighting piracy for our customers doesn’t just mean monitoring, identifying and securing the content – it is also about converting those subscribers into legitimate views thereby growing the business.

Joining AVIA is particularly timely as Friend MTS has recently opened brand new offices in Singapore as part of the company’s continued commitment to grow and expand in APAC. Since the new ownership by North Edge following the investment in 2022, the company has been investing in all parts of the business, including Engineering and R&D which so far has grown by 20%, as well as increasing its footprint across the regions. This shows how much the company is committed to working with local broadcasters, OTT operators and rights holders to help protect their content and revenue and ultimately grow their business.

As industry partnerships and raising awareness within the wider community are key in combating illegal video redistribution, Friend MTS trusts that an institution like AVIA, with 25 years of knowledge and action in the field, will help develop strong links with various industry players such as internet service providers (ISPs) as well as policymakers and local enforcement institutions to tackle the issue of piracy.

Fabien Gauthier
Vice President Sales, APAC

Friend MTS