Strengthening our market presence
In 2009, we developed our business and further strengthened our market presence around the world.
In Europe, we secured a number of new contracts, particularly in the digital terrestrial television sector. See below for further details.
In North America, Nagravision and NagraStar L.L.C. signed a new ten-year agreement with DISH Network, one of our major clients on that continent, at the end of 2009. This new agreement ranks among our main achievements in recent months. It aligns DISH Network's and Nagravision's interests to optimize the resilience of DISH Network's security solutions, including the deployment of next generation security smart cards in addition to a broader scope of signal protection covering traditional and emerging piracy threats. DISH Network recently completed a migration of its more than 14 million subscribers (as of Dec. 10, 2009) to Nagravision's new-generation security technology.
We also grew our business in South America where new agreements were signed. These include in particular DISH Mexico and Hi-tv in Mexico (NAGRA Media ACCESS and NAGRA Media TNT respectively), Oi Brazil (NAGRA Media DTH) and Embratel (NAGRA Media ACCESS) in Brazil, American Movil (NAGRA Media ACCESS) in Panama, Clara Puerto Rico DTH (NAGRA Media TNT) in Puerto Rico and Cable Magico Perù (Livewire OS) in Peru.
At the beginning of 2010, Nagravision also announced the signature of a contract with Rede Globo, the Brazilian television network, in view of an innovative project that includes the digital television industry's first geo-control technology. This ground-breaking solution is based on a NAGRA Media ACCESS conditional access system. It enables local HD and SD content to be received from a satellite broadcasting infrastructure.
In Asia, Vietnam Satellite Digital Television (VSTV), a joint venture between Canal+ Group and Vietnam Cable Television, selected Nagravision as its sole provider of conditional access technology. The Taiwan-based operator China Network Systems Co., Ltd (CNS) selected Nagravision's latest-generation conditional access system for the launch of premium and HD services. CNS is one of the leading triple-play operators in Taiwan and offers a full range of broadband internet and telephone services. Nagravision has a solid presence in Taiwan, where most operators use its systems.
R&D center opened in Beijing
In order to better serve the needs of our customers on the Chinese market, we opened an office and a research and development center in Beijing in November 2009.
The Kudelski Group has been present in China since 1999. Nagravision's solutions are currently being used by some of China's leading digital television operators including Beijing Gehua Cable TV Network (BGCTV), Chinese Suzhou Digital Television Company, Oriental Cable Network (OCN), and CBC, the mobile operator of CMMB (previously China Satellite Mobile – CSM).
In 2008, Nagravision was selected as the conditional access provider for the nationwide mobile TV CMMB service, which was launched for the Beijing Olympics. This represented a further important step in the Group's sustainable development on this market.
The creation of a new digital TV R&D center and office in Beijing demonstrates the Kudelski Group's firm belief that the Chinese market has a strong growth potential for its core digital TV activities. The new center already employs around one hundred digital TV experts spread across research and development, sales and services, and integration services.
OpenTV is also firmly established in China. The Beijing structure was set up in 1999 and now employs more than 150 specialists.