Some content is only meant for specific audiences. Use content protection to:
- Prevent unauthorized websites from embedding your content;
- Limit your exclusive, premium or confidential content to your target audience only.
In this article, we’ll guide you through creating and applying content protection policies to your mediaclips and channels.
1.0 | What is a Content Protection Policy?
A policy can consist of one or more of the following types of rules:
- Country: specify which countries are allowed or blocked from viewing your content.
- Domain: choose which websites (URLs) are allowed or blocked to play your content.
- IP: restrict video access to specific IP addresses.
- Token: use tokens to provide advanced access control. Tokens are useful when you need more granular control. In contrast to a country, domain or IP policy, the backend of your website/application needs to be able to “generate” a valid token. Read more about generating tokens in the last section of this article (see 5.0 | Advanced – Using Token Secrets).
2.0 | Create a Content Protection Policy
To create a Content Protection policy:
- In the OVP, click “Publication Settings” in the left menu panel;
- Select “Content Protection” and add a new Content Protection Policy;
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- Name your policy and enter a description. This helps keep track of what the policy is for. The provided name and description will appear throughout the OVP.
2.1 | Create a Rule Set
A rule set determines under what conditions viewers are allowed to watch your content:
- Select a type:
- Country
- Domain
- IP
- Token (advanced use only; to create a rule set for a token, you will need to create a ‘secret’ first: see 5.0 Advanced – Using Token Secrets)
- Configure a rule by using “is” or “is not” statements :
- Is / is any of: use to allow one or more countries, domains, or IPs addresses
- Is not / is none of: use to exclude one or more countries, domains, or IP addresses.
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Example 1: only allow views from Spain:
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Example 2: only allow views from www.my-exclusive-channel.com:
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Example 3: allow views from all countries except from Poland and US:
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- Combine multiple rules using “and” and “or” conditions:
- And: use to ensure all conditions are met before allowing content to be viewed.
- Or: use to ensure only one condition needs to be true.
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Example 1: only allow views if the visit is from France and if the visit is on www.my-daily-news.fr.
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Example 2: allow views if the visit is from France or if the visitor’s IP address is 12.2345.678.910.
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2.2 | Blocked Content Display: Media Clip
Choose what viewers see when your content protection policy blocks a media clip:
- Show content, but prevent it from playing
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- Don’t show content (the background color set in the playout settings will be shown):
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2.3 | Blocked Content Display: Channel
Choose what viewers see when your content protection policy blocks a channel:
- Show content, but prevent it from playing
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- Don’t show content: a blank screen will be shown
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3.0 | Apply a Content Protection Policy
3.1 | Media clip
To apply a Content Protection Policy to a media clip:
- In the OVP, click “Media Library” in the left menu panel;
- Select “Media clips” and open the “Content Protection” tab in your media clip;
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- Select a Content Protection Policy in the dropdown menu
The name, description and rules defined in the policy are displayed as a helpful reminder of the content protection settings. Use the shortcut to the policy settings if adjustments are needed.
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3.2 | Channel
To apply a Content Protection Policy to a channel:
- In the OVP, click “Media Library” in the left menu panel;
- Select “Channels” and open the “General” tab;
- Scroll down to “Content Protection”
- Select a policy in the dropdown menu:
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The name, description and rules defined in the policy are displayed as a helpful reminder of the content protection settings. Use the shortcut to the policy settings if adjustments are needed.
4.0 | Test Your Content Protection Policy
Embed your clip to test your policy settings. If the conditions are not met, a rejection is displayed in the player (as set in 3.0 | Apply a Content Protection Policy).
4.1 | Country
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4.2 | Domain
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4.3 | IP Address
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4.4 | Token
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