Aiming to reassure those operators looking to take advantage of the Capex benefits of cardless TV services, Nagra and Samsung have launched TVkey Cloud, a next generation enhanced content protection for smart TVs.

The company says that while the TVkey system using external USB dongles is the reference for “one way” broadcast pay-TV solutions, the increased availability of Internet-connected smart TVs opens up exciting new possibilities to combine the security capabilities of the TVkey embedded hardware in the TV with sophisticated security management systems in the cloud. The system complies with MovieLabs requirements for Enhanced Content Protection of 4K Ultra HD, HDR, and early release content.
“With TVkey Cloud, we are enabling impulse purchase of pay-TV content on any Samsung Smart TV without requiring any additional hardware, lowering the subscription costs and removing entry barriers,” said Maurice Van Riek, SVP content and asset security for Nagra. “Consumers will be able to activate their pay-TV services instantly as part of the initial TV set-up, making it even easier than ever to access pay-TV services and enjoy their favourite programming on their new Samsung TV set. At the same time, it enables a no-CAPEX business model that gives service providers a cost-optimized path to a premium service.”
Samsung will launch the first TVkey Cloud in its 2019 line-up of smart TVs.