Protect high-value sports content with Irdeto’s continuous renewal of keys

Irdeto has unveiled a new scalable feature to address key rotation requirements mandated by leading sports rights holders for the protection of high-value sports leagues. This innovative enhancement to Irdeto Control enables streaming service providers to meet the most stringent security standards without requiring changes to their existing video platforms.

This new capability is part of Irdeto Control, a cloud-based multi-DRM (digital rights management) that secures premium video content across all major devices, delivering more than 15 billion DRM transactions per month, and serving more than 200 million users.

It supports leading DRM technologies like Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady, enabling broadcasters and over-the-top (OTT) platforms to enforce licensing policies, protect live and on-demand content, and meet strict security requirements with minimal integration effort. 

In addition, Irdeto Control is a highly scalable DRM Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that leverages DRM protocols to provide advanced piracy and fraud mitigation mechanisms such as DRM-based concurrency management, vulnerable device and device model blocking, script and emulator blocking, and geo/VPN blocking.

Irdeto’s solution effectively reduces the exposure window for each content encryption key by enabling high-frequency key cycling at the DRM level. This makes common piracy methods such as key extraction and CDN leeching harder to achieve.

The continuous renewal of keys forces repeated authentication, disrupting the stability of unauthorised streams and increasing their likelihood of failure. This consistent degradation of the pirate experience helps shift users back toward legitimate platforms, supporting improved monetisation and stronger content protection for rights holders.

Andrew Bunten, Chief Operating Officer, Video Entertainment, Irdeto, said, “Piracy in live sports continues to evolve rapidly, and rights holders are demanding tougher security standards that don’t hinder operational efficiency.

“With this new capability in Irdeto Control, we’re empowering broadcasters and streaming platforms to stay ahead of pirates, without disrupting their video workflow or viewer experience. It’s a major step forward in protecting the value of live content.”