Irdeto Access, a leading company in content protection and management, announced that the North American division of ABS-CBN International (ABS-CBNI) has expanded the number of programming channels it broadcasts in the United States and Canada with the aid of the Irdeto M-Crypt conditional access (CA) system.

Irdeto Access, a subsidiary of Naspers (NASDAQ: NPSN and JSE: NPN), a multinational media group, developed Irdeto M-Crypt specifically for small-to medium-size pay TV operators requiring digital encryption of content for cable, satellite, or terrestrial transmission.

A press release states that ABS-CBNI relies on Irdeto M-Crypt to protect its direct-to-home, satellite-based content, which includes three television channels and two radio channels. The company has purchased 75,000 smart cards that allow customers subscribing to The Filipino Channel, Cinema One, and ABS-CBN News Channel to access the purchased content seamlessly.

"Irdeto Access is very diligent in its security measures," ABC-CBNI engineering manager Ning Pascual was quoted as saying, "By constantly changing its series of keys, Irdeto Access has enabled us to secure our content revenue."

The release also adds that Irdeto M-Crypt features a highly scalable, modular design. With this system, ABS-CBNI has expanded the scope of its programming with support for additional channels. As the company has expanded, it has also been able to utilize excess satellite bandwidth on its Telstar 5 transporter to offer channel services for a variety of ethnic programmers.

"We migrated to Irdeto M-Crypt's second-generation smart card technology almost a year ago," ABS-CBNI VP and MD Rafael Lopez, VP was quoted as saying in the release, "We haven't encountered any problems and we're quite satisfied with how the system works for us and our clients."

"The protection of content in its broadest sense is the core business for Irdeto Access. We are pleased that Irdeto Access' solution supports ABS-CBNI in their business expansion," said Irdeto Access CEO Graham Kill.

"Irdeto Access' Version 2 smart card has provided our customers with protection of their content and revenue streams for nearly 3 years and remains secure. However, this is no reason to sit back. We offer a full security program including the proactive deployment of a new smart card on a regular basis presenting our customers the benefits of the latest smart
card technology and increasing the hurdles for security infringements." Graham Kill adds.

A release states that Irdeto M-Crypt is a modular, user- friendly and cost-effective CA system that allows the operator to grow according to his business needs. As the subscriber base grows Irdeto M-Crypt can be upgraded smoothly to Irdeto Access' large-scale CA system: Irdeto psys (PIsys) without the need to change smart cards or STBs in the field.

Irdeto M-Crypt is as functional as large-scale CA solutions and operates on a Windows® 2000 platform for simplified, PC-based control and maintenance.