securing the revenues of africa’s most ambitious...

SECURING THE REVENUES OF AFRICA’S MOST AMBITIOUS ENTERTAINMENT PROVIDER

“ Verimatrix’s best-of-breed, VCAS security solution is proven to protect Zuku TV revenues at all points of the value chain, enabling us to realize our multi-network ambitions.”

- Richard Alden, CEO, Wananchi Group

Copyright © 2014 Verimatrix, Inc. All Rights Reserved.www.verimatrix.com 02

In Sub-Saharan Africa more than 35% of TV homes, or 14 million, took digital signals at the end of 2012 according

to Digital TV Research1, forecasting that digital TV penetration will rocket to 95% by 2018, and with household numbers

quadrupling to almost 50 million. Full digital transition will have been completed by the end of 2015 in Kenya, Tanzania,

Uganda and Malawi – the key markets for Kenya’s ambitious Wananchi group, which has chosen to secure its Zuku

pay-TV services and revenues with Verimatrix.

WANACHI

Wananchi is targeting the 15 million TV households that it forecasts for East Africa by 2015. With cable operations

established in Kenya, Wananchi launched its Zuku DTH pay-TV platform in ten East African countries in July 2011 and

two years later, migrated onto the SES satellite SES-5 to extend its reach to over 35 countries. Ambitious and competitive,

Wananchi’s mission is to become Africa’s leading entertainment provider, making as much content as possible available

to as many people as possible across any network or device.

A CONTINENT IN TRANSITION

35%of TV homes took digital signals at the end of 2012

50 MILLIONProjected number of households receiving digital signals by 2018

95%Projected number of TV homes to receive digital signals by 2018

http://www.verimatrix.com


Playing an important role in securing the future of the Zuku

brand as it extends to offer OTT services, Verimatrix is supplying

Wananchi the appropriate content security technologies,

and is proactively supporting and executing integration

activities with other ecosystem partners.

WHAT’S ON ZUKU TV

Wananchi’s DTH satellite pay-TV offering, Zuku, offers quality TV service of over

85 channels in both HD and SD at an affordable price, and more than 120 channels

on the top-end Fibre platform. Zuku is proud of its nine exclusive Zuku channels,

which were developed in East Africa, especially for East African audiences. Zuku

Movies (4 channels), Sports, Afrika, Life, Swahili Movies and Kids offer a unique

combination of international and regional programming of all genres.

In addition Zuku TV carries third party channels including most of the major news and business channels as well as brands

like: Fox Entertainment, FX, BET, E! Entertainment, Star Plus, Colors and SAB; MTV Base, Nickelodeon, KidsCo, Fashion One,

Viasat’s four documentary channels, Nat Geo Adventure, Fine Living Network, MGM Channel, Zee Cinema, African Movie

Channel. For examples of Zuku TV programming, please visit http://zuku.co.ke/satellite-tv/channels-line-up.html

Wananchi Programming was established to create compelling content for the group’s pay-TV operations. The Programming

Group is responsible for acquiring and originating programming for its own Zuku Channels. Increasingly these channels

are being marketed to other operators in Africa.

WANANCHI’S AMBITIONS

Wananchi has extensive multi-territory and multi-network digital TV ambitions and in 2013, it began to realize these

by adding interactivity to its Zuku TV service via a new, cost-effective Set-top Box (STB) and an IP platform. In the near

future the Company intends to extend its reach to 35 countries, addressing millions of potential subscribers and a wide

range of client devices, with the introduction of over-the-top (OTT) video-on-demand (VOD) services. The latter will

initially be offered on a wholesale basis to cable operators in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for redistribution.

http://zuku.co.ke/satellite-tv/channels-line-up.html


THE CHALLENGES

•RealizingtheCompany’sambitiontoextendtheZukuTVfootprintacrossWest,SouthandEastAfricaandbecome

the continent’s leading entertainment provider

•Offeringacompetitiveyetaffordablemulti-screenservicetoallofitscustomers

•Creatingafuture-proofplatformthatscalesandsupportsexistingandanticipatedcontentdeliveryandsecurity

requirements, including OTT

WHY CONTENT SECURITY?

Pay-TV operators, broadcasters and content providers have many reasons for protecting their valuable content, the

greatest of which is to secure the associated revenues from potential piracy and illegal redistribution threats. They need

to make sure that only authorized subscribers have access to the programming, videos and other content, on authenticated

devices, according to what they have purchased. The operator also needs the flexibility to add new services, adapt

its business models and channels of distribution to achieve their multi-network ambitions.

The proliferation of the Internet and mobile devices, together with the transition to digital networks, are driving the

growth of multi-network TV and video services across Africa. As such pay-TV operators are turning to affordable and

scalable software-based (cardless) security solutions such as those provided by Verimatrix, to secure their service

revenues whether delivered via broadcast, mobile or broadband networks.

THE ROLE OF VERIMATRIX

Initially chosen in 2010 for its award-winning software-based Video Content Authority

System (VCAS™) for DVB solution to secure Zuku’s direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV

services, Verimatrix has since extended the VCAS™ reach to also protect the revenues

the Zuku digital cable TV services. Playing an important role in securing the future of

the Zuku brand as it extends to offer OTT services, Verimatrix is supplying Wananchi

the appropriate content security technologies, and is proactively supporting and

executing integration activities with other ecosystem partners. Verimatrix provides

around-the-clock support to ensure customers enjoy the best TV experience possible while

Wananchi can rest assured that Zuku TV and its revenues are kept secure.


ZUKU TV MULTI-NETWORK DELIVERY

The cable TV network is an example of a “cap-and-grow” scenario, where VCAS is installed in parallel with an

incumbent CA system. Implementing DVB Simulcrypt, VCAS serves a newer population of STBs from Technicolor and

Castlenet while the older generation of boxes are gradually replaced. The cap-and-grow approach ensures that all

subscribers enjoy uninterrupted services while the upgrade process to the new generation of STBs is performed. This

scenario will see the original CA system turned off when the STB replacement is completed.

The video head-end partner in this project is Harmonic, while the subscriber management and billing system was

provided by Great Lakes Data Systems (GLDS).

The diagram illustrates how Zuku TV is delivered over three different transport networks: satellite, cable/HFC, and a GPON/IP where the DVB stream is encapsulated into IP, with all services secured from a single VCAS head-end

Satellite Receivers DTHHead-end MUX

Legacy CAS

Verimatrix VCAS

IP Ingest MUX

Transcoding

IP ContributionSources

HFC Network

GPON Network

Verimatrix VCAS

CableHead-end MUX

Verimatrix VCAS

IPTVHead-end MUX

VerimatrixViewRight DTH STB

Legacy CASCable STB

VerimatrixViewRight Cable STB

Two Way Cable Networks

VerimatrixViewRight IP STB


THE VERIMATRIX SOLUTION

Continuous innovation in content security and the proven ability to scale to millions of subscribers cost effectively were

key criteria for Wananchi when, after thorough prospective vendor evaluations, it selected Verimatrix to secure the

revenues of Zuku TV. Verimatrix VCAS is a fully-integrated, cardless security solution that secures premium video

content to various types of networks – whether managed or unmanaged – using satellite DTH, cable, IPTV and OTT

delivery to a multitude of devices, all from a single and unified security authority.

This proactive revenue protection and enhancement approach enables Wananchi to cast a much wider net with their

service offerings. As a consequence, their central value proposition has shifted beyond that of traditional, single network

content protection alone, towards the broader perspective of multi-network revenue security.


SOLUTION FEATURES

•Supportforadvancedpay-TVbusinessmodelsthatprovideserviceoperatorswithvirtuallyunlimitedflexibilityin

defining pay-tv products and services, including impulse pay-per-view

•Choiceofcardlessandcard-basedclientsecurityallowstheoperatortomatchsubscriberrevenuepotentialwith

suitable STB technology

•Mobilephoneandweb-basedself-provisioning,includingpre-paidvouchers,canreducecostofcallcenters

•Middleware-independentDVBSIServerforSTBelectronicprogramguidedata

•On-screenmessagesandchatrooms,parentalcontrol,client-STBpairing,watermarkingandfingerprinting

•Veryefficientformfactor:Supportscryptographicoperationsforupto1MSTBsinonly2RU(3.5”)rackspace

SOLUTION BENEFITS

•EnablesWananchitogeneraterevenuesonanyservicedeliverynetwork:satellite,cable,OTT

•Providesassuranceofcustomerloyaltyandgrowthbysecuringacompetitive,multi-screenTVandvideoservice

•Providessignificantcostsavings,withoutcompromise,byadoptingasoftware-based(cardless)securitysolution

•Providessystem-on-a-chip(SOC)hardeningandincreasedsecurityandcountermeasures

•ExtendsWananchi’sreachacrossmultiplenetworks,devicesandgeographiesviaasinglesecurityplatformthat

comprises unified head-end architecture and modular components

•Easilyintegrateswithmobilenetworkstoenablesecond-screensupportandtwo-wayinteractivity

•EfficientlyextendstoDVB-hybridservices

•Supportson-demandservicesbothonDVBandIPnetworkswithmulti-screenandmultidevicecapability

•Supportsmultiplebusinessmodelsbyeasilyintegratingwithexistingarchitecturesandecosystempartners

•Providespersonalizedchoicesandviewingmodelsacrossallclientdevices


ABOUT WANANCHI GROUP

Wananchi Group is the leading business providing affordable entertainment and connectivity for the rapidly growing

middle class in East Africa. The group is revolutionising the communications space though the delivery of innovative,

value for money entertainment and broadband internet services in a manner that inspires and delights our residential

and business customers.

Zuku is a homegrown East African brand under Wananchi Group. It was established with the aim of making quality home

entertainment and communication services accessible to a rapidly growing, choice conscious East African middle class.

ABOUT VERIMATRIX

Verimatrix specializes in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-network, multi-screen digital TV services around

the globe. The award-winning and independently audited Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCASTM) and

ViewRight® solutions enable cable, satellite, terrestrial, IPTV and OTT operators to cost-effectively extend their networks

and enable new business models. As the established leader in cardless security solutions, the company has leveraged

its innovative 3-Dimensional Security approach to provide harmonized rights for premium content delivery to a range

of devices over new hybrid network combinations. Maintaining close relationships with major studios, broadcasters,

standards organizations and its unmatched partner ecosystem enables Verimatrix to provide a unique perspective on

video business issues beyond content security as operators introduce new services to take advantage of the proliferation

of connected devices. Verimatrix is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company.

CONTACT

For more information, please visit www.verimatrix.com, our Pay TV Views blog, and follow us at @verimatrixinc,

Facebook and LinkedIn to join the conversation.

Verimatrix Inc.

[email protected]

1Digital TV report: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2372554/digital_tv_subsaharan_africa

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