How to ensure your monitoring solutions represent a return on investment

In the last of our three blogs on monitoring, we consider the big question: how can you ensure your monitoring solution represents a return on investment? Content security is a necessary investment for all content owners, rights holders and broadcasters, but how can you tell if it’s a cost that will not only deliver security benefits but also prevent or reduce churn – and even generate additional potential revenue? We consider three questions that you can ask when choosing a provider to help you achieve the best ROI. 

[In case you missed it, you can read our previous articles on how to use monitoring to stop fraud and why multi-channel monitoring that can scale is key!] 

So first off, you should consider…

Does your vendor’s solution provide a measurable and immediate impact on the overall piracy landscape?

Content monitoring can naturally help customers determine where their content is being illegally shared. But it should also go beyond that; helping to have a tangible impact on the availability of illegal streams. If a solution is extremely effective, there will be a significant impact following the enforcement actions that have been taken. 

Comprehensive piracy detection complemented by extensive enforcement should take place in cooperation with other industry players (including payment, hosting and other infrastructure providers). These measures help instigate substantial changes to the piracy landscape – almost immediately in the case of live sports. Pirates move fast to obtain the live content that they need to generate profit and when enforcement actions make one source more difficult to access they will turn to the lowest-hanging fruit, away from the well-protected sources. 

Does your vendor’s solution work seamlessly with other technologies to deliver end-to-end protection?

Any solution you consider should complement your existing infrastructure and providers. Content protection strategies require a multifaceted approach, often involving many internal departments such as legal, engineering and more. Anti-piracy can become quite a complex undertaking to ensure full end-to-end protection across the value chain.

Therefore, each technology component must work seamlessly with the rest of the stack. For broadcasters and pay-TV service providers, some of whom have legacy systems to maintain and protect, there is nothing worse than a technology that makes matters even more complex. 

Monitoring solutions and service providers should not force you to sign up for an entire stack of services you don’t need, and that may not work with your existing technology. As in all technology, streamlined solutions are the most efficient, and the best anti-piracy solutions comprise only the security components you actually need; beware of bundled offerings containing services that are of little use or impact.

Does your vendor collect and maintain evidence to support possible litigation?

Content protection vendors are required to supply admissible evidence when they face non-compliance. A traceable trail of issued and ignored legal notices, as well as other evidence, is critical for content owners and service providers to build their case against non-compliant sites and organisations, and to win against illegal operations which damage their bottom line.

Cumulative data is also crucial for building your case. It’s important to check your vendor’s data retention policy including how long the data is stored, how it’s stored, the chain of custody protocol, etc. and how these processes and procedures align with the evidence handling protocols set out by law enforcement organisations in various territories.  

Once all these questions have been considered, you should be in a strong position to understand if your monitoring solution provider can achieve a real return on investment for you. With real impact upon piracy, strong relationships with other technology providers and sound legal support, your monitoring solution will protect your investments in premium content, and help to generate future revenue. 

For more information about how our team of experts can help you find the best monitoring solution, chat with us today. You can also download our monitoring ebook below. 

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