(17 June 2010 8:55 pm)

MUMBAI: Astro, the Malaysia-based cross-media broadcaster and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay-TV operator, has partnered with Irdeto, the firm which deals in securing and delivering premium content and digital assets.

Astro will use Irdeto’s content management solution to power the live streaming and on-demand broadband delivery of all 64 FIFA World Cup 2010 matches on the Astro B.yond Player.

Additionally, Irdeto will power mobile access to live matches via Astro sister company Maxis, offering exclusive streaming of all matches, replays and highlights.

“Astro understands platforms in terms of TV, radio, online and other media; we understand our customers and their surrounding communities, their diversity and their trends. At the same time, Astro is unique because we’ve had the privilege of starting operations and growing within Malaysia. We target ‘best in class’ partnerships and strive for integration within our partner roadmaps, leveraging our regional expertise,” said Astro CTO Paul Dale.

“We are happy to partner with them to take the World Cup experience far past traditional broadcast for Malaysians,” Dale added.

As Astro’s content hub for the ingestion, preparation and delivery of all World Cup matches to new media services, Irdeto is working with Akamai’s HD Network for live streaming in high definition and Microsoft Corp’s customised player experience with Microsoft Silverlight and Microsoft PlayReady for content protection, Irdeto is supporting the first regional deployment of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming, an adaptive bitrate technology that detects a consumer's broadband data transfer rate in real time and adjusts the quality of a video stream for an uninterrupted, unparalleled user experience.

The Akamai HD Network offers the largest video distribution capacity and global scale, and is optimised to help broadcasters increase audience engagement and expand revenues by complementing traditional mediums such as TV and DVD with the internet. In addition, Conviva is providing real-time audience monitoring, analytics and reporting and EVS is delivering on-demand broadcast highlights and clip packages.