Premiere remains a Kudelski customer for the time being
The Vaud-based technology group Kudelski can breathe a sigh of relief: For the time being, the German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere will remain a customer of the TV encryption expert for its cable subscribers. However, Kudelski is facing competition from Rupert Murdoch's company, NDS.
The Vaud-based technology group Kudelski can breathe a sigh of relief: the German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere will remain a customer of the TV encryption expert for its cable customers for the time being. Security vulnerabilities were discovered at the beginning of the year. Hackers had cracked the Kudelski encryption program. This led to a loss of revenue for Premiere. The Munich-based company threatened to switch providers as a result (see
). Kudelski and Premiere have now confirmed their collaboration until 2012, and the contract can be extended by Premiere until 2015, according to a joint press release issued on Tuesday. Both companies were convinced that they could "adequately" close the security gaps with the new generation of smartcards.
However, Kudelski will still have competition: the Premiere program broadcast via satellite will in future be encoded using Videoguard technology from the company NDS. NDS is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Murdoch recently acquired a 22.7 percent stake in Premiere. According to SDA, analysts assume that Premiere will test the two systems in parallel operation and select the better one in a few years' time.
Due to the loss of sales, Premiere also wanted to negotiate with Kudelski about claims for damages. However, no details were given on Tuesday.
). Kudelski and Premiere have now confirmed their collaboration until 2012, and the contract can be extended by Premiere until 2015, according to a joint press release issued on Tuesday. Both companies were convinced that they could "adequately" close the security gaps with the new generation of smartcards.
However, Kudelski will still have competition: the Premiere program broadcast via satellite will in future be encoded using Videoguard technology from the company NDS. NDS is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Murdoch recently acquired a 22.7 percent stake in Premiere. According to SDA, analysts assume that Premiere will test the two systems in parallel operation and select the better one in a few years' time.
Due to the loss of sales, Premiere also wanted to negotiate with Kudelski about claims for damages. However, no details were given on Tuesday.
