London, UK – 4 June 2024 – Friend MTS, the leading provider of video content security solutions, today announced that ITV, the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, has chosen Friend MTS’s anti-piracy services to help protect ITV content.
With Friend MTS’s 24×7 Global Monitoring service, ITV will protect its main linear channels across broadcast and streaming platforms. These channels feature exclusive, premium content including Six Nations Rugby, the FA Cup, the England Women’s football team matches, the upcoming UEFA EURO 2024 tournament, entertainment including The Masked Singer and Celebrity Big Brother, and drama such as Red Eye and Trigger Point.
ITV’s decision to partner with Friend MTS is based on the company’s proven results with other major broadcasters and content owners. Using its best-in-class global monitoring platform, which includes proprietary, award-winning fingerprinting technology and automated detection systems, backed by a highly experienced 24×7 operations team, Friend MTS will identify illegal streams across the internet for immediate takedown, and facilitate the removal of links from primary search engines. The result is comprehensive, highly effective monitoring and enforcement against content fraud.
Sarah Tierney, Director of Distribution at ITV, said, “ITV’s aim is to contribute to making piracy unsustainable and through appointing Friend MTS we will be working together to enhance our anti-piracy activities in the UK. As a key part of our strategy to optimise broadcast and supercharge streaming, it’s important that we maximise ITV’s reach while protecting audiences from the material consumer harms of pirate sites and meeting our contractual obligations with rights holders.”
Chris Gibbs, Senior Vice President of Sales at Friend MTS commented, “We are seeing a tide of key entertainment brands turning to us to help them fight piracy and keep their content secure. Our unrivalled capabilities not only reduce exposure to piracy but ensure advertiser messaging is seen by the right people, which is paramount for an ad-funded businesses like ITV.”
About ITV
ITV is an integrated producer broadcaster consisting of ITV Studios and Media & Entertainment. ITV Studios is a world-class international creator, producer and distributor. In Media & Entertainment, ITV commissions brilliant programmes. ITV makes them available to audiences through its family of channels, the biggest commercial network in the UK, and through ITVX, the ad-funded, free streaming home for ITV and new programme premieres. Since launch in December 2022, ITVX has achieved over 3 billion streams, a record for ITV.
About Friend MTS:
Friend MTS is the number one video content security provider globally and the trusted business partner of the biggest brands in media, sports, and entertainment. Its mission is to help content owners, broadcasters and operators increase revenues by combating piracy and reducing the impact of illicit content distribution. Its Emmy award-winning fingerprint-augmented content monitoring, forensic watermarking, industry-first dynamic server blocking and legal enforcement, make Friend MTS the most advanced content security and anti-piracy provider. Founded in 2000, Friend MTS is owned by private equity firm NorthEdge and has offices around the world.
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