NDS Launches VideoGuard Pre-Paid Solution for Pay-TV Operators

Highlights:

* NDS offers operators a pre-paid add-on module, pre-configured with Brand-ID Europe’s CHKVIEW back-office solution
* NDS VideoGuard Pre-Paid™ provides TV operators with an innovative way to attract new subscribers with pay-as-you-go TV services
* VideoGuard Pre-Paid provides secure, multiple end-user payment options at minimal cost

LONDON, UK - IBC Hall 1, Stand A71 - NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced the availability of its conditional access (CA) add-on module, NDS VideoGuard Pre-Paid™. This offering will enable operators in both emerging and mature markets to provide customers with more payment options at minimal cost. Brand-ID Europe, a leading provider of pre-paid payment services, supplies the back-office payment component with its CHKVIEW solution together with a full range of scratch card and e-voucher options.

Based on market-leading VideoGuard® CA, NDS VideoGuard Pre-Paid allows pay-TV operators to reach new market segments with pay-as-you-go TV services. With this offering, subscribers can purchase and store credit for future viewing options or for immediate activation. Once they decide to purchase content, the set amount will be debited from their stored credit. VideoGuard Pre-Paid then sends the entitlement rights from the operator’s head-end directly to the individual’s smart card inside their set-top box (STB) and allows the viewer access to the chosen content.

“As consumers continue to enjoy the benefits of pre-paid options in the mobile market, pay-TV operators are seeing additional opportunities for such offerings in their space. By offering customers more payment option flexibility, operators can quickly reach a new type of customer and begin to immediately see an increase in revenue,” said Nigel Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of NDS. “With VideoGuard Pre-Paid, our customers can deliver more customised packages to a broader target audience while still taking advantage of VideoGuard’s market leading business and security features.”

By deploying this particular add-on module with the VideoGuard system, operators can offer flexible pre-paid options such as pay-per-view, pay-per-time, pay-per-channel, pay-per-bouquet or pay-per-subscription, depending on their package preference. The VideoGuard Pre-Paid solution requires minimal changes to the operator head-end infrastructure and is fully compatible with existing NDS products. Operators can also choose from a wide variety of payment options for their customers, including pre-entitled scratch cards and smart cards, e-vouchers activated via mobile text messaging, web portals, instant messaging or IVR lines.

“By implementing Brand-ID’s CHKVIEW together with VideoGuard Pre-Paid, operators can not only provide extra options to existing customers, but also reach potential new ones that are attracted to the pay-as-you-go model,” said Martin Horn, VP Sales and Marketing for Brand-ID Europe. “Together we will provide operators with a fast and easy-to-deploy offering that will address new market segments and expand on existing ones with the convenience of flexible pre-paid packages.”

For more information about VideoGuard Pre-Paid, please visit: http://www.nds.com/solutions/videoguard_prepaid.php

About NDS:

NDS Group Ltd. creates the technologies and applications that enable pay-TV operators to securely deliver digital content to TV STBs (set-top boxes), DVRs (digital video recorders), PCs, mobiles and other multimedia devices. Over 70 of the world’s leading pay-TV platforms rely on NDS solutions to protect and enhance their businesses. VideoGuard® is the world’s market-leading conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) technology, currently deployed on 107 million active devices, and safeguarding pay-TV service revenues exceeding $40 billion. NDS middleware, including MediaHighway® which enables a host of advanced services for subscribers, has been deployed on 123 million devices. NDS DVR technology, centred around XTV™, leads the global industry with 21 million units deployed. (Deployment figures as of 30th June 2009).

Headquartered in the UK, NDS remains committed to investing in R&D with over 75% of its employees dedicated to pioneering work at development centres in China, Denmark, France, India, Israel, Korea, UK and US. NDS has also implemented a host of initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and helping digital TV subscribers reduce energy consumption.

NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation. See www.nds.com for more information.

About Brand ID Europe:

Brand-ID Europe Ltd specialises in high capacity, secure Voucher Management Systems to generate, store and deliver valuable information, instantly accessible worldwide via multiple communications channels.

Since 2004, the security and reliability of Brand-ID’s world-leading systems and pre-paid vouchers has been proven by five of the leading groups in the global Telco industry, and selected exclusively by a large-scale government-sector program. This experience has been leveraged to create CHKVIEW, a specialised end to end Pre-Paid solution enabling a wide range of new Pay TV business models. The service includes innovative marketing features to further enhance the consumer experience, plus powerful real-time capabilities for monitoring, measurement and reporting.

The pioneering design and robust 24/7/365 global availability of Brand-ID’s high-speed systems also supports innovative Brand and Consumer Protection methods, as well as a range of convenient Identification and Tracing services.

www.brand-id.eu