CCTV Selects SafeNet to Secure Online Broadcast of the 2008 Olympics

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SafeNet Inc., a global leader in information security, announced in a Wednesday press release that CCTV, the national television network of the People's Republic of China, has selected SafeNet’s Digital Rights Management (DRM) solution to provide copyright protection for live and on-demand online video footage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

CCTV.com has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the only official Internet/mobile broadcaster of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and therefore owns exclusive rights to the broadcast of all audio and video content via online and mobile distribution channels across Mainland China and Macau.

CCTV has committed to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) of the IOC against piracy. They are following the China Broadcasting Copyright Protection standard.

"CCTV.com is pleased to partner with SafeNet since June, to undergo a DRM trial evaluation for our 2008 European Soccer Game broadcasting,” CCTV.com CEO Wang Wenbin said.

“SafeNet successfully met all security requirements and was therefore selected to protect the Beijing Olympic Games online broadcasting against copyright infringement," he added.

"The copyright of the Olympic Games is too important to us as it affects the economic interest to the International Olympic Committee, the authorized broadcasting operators and the branding of the Olympic Games,” Wenbin continued.

“We strongly believe that SafeNet's DRM solution is reliable and could securely protect the Intellectual Property for the new media video and voice broadcasting," he concluded.

SafeNet’s complete portfolio of standards-based client and server-side DRM security solutions will enable CCTV.com to protect its exclusive copyright of digital Olympic Games footage by protecting the audio and video content from being recorded and replayed via unofficial distributions channels.

Furthermore, by adopting an open standards-based DRM solution, CCTV.com is able to guarantee both the stability and security of its online video transmission.

On July 25, 2008 senior executives from CCTV, CCTV.com, Intel and SafeNet participated in a press conference in Beijing to officially announce the partnership and highlight the importance of protecting the IP of the Olympic Games online broadcasting. Video footage from the press conference is available upon request.

SafeNet is a global leader in information security. Founded 25 years ago, the company provides complete security utilizing its encryption technologies to protect communications, IP and digital identities, and offers a full spectrum of products including hardware, software, and chips.