Applications
Zee, Sony and Disney tech providers NexGuard, Colorfront collaborate to ensure distributors stay ahead of pirates
MUMBAI: NexGuard and Colorfront have released key updates to their joint solution, adding support for multi-layer watermarking workflows and enhanced scalability and automation of forensic watermarking.
NexGuard’s Emmy award-winning solutions are used by content producers, broadcasters, Pay TV operators and OTT providers around the world, including all major Hollywood studios; AMC Networks in the US; iQiyi, the largest Internet and mobile video service provider in China; ZEE TV in India and sports leagues.
NexGuard MD Harrie Tholen will also be speaking at the IBC panel discussion “Protecting media assets and countering cyber threats in the OTT world” on 18 September at Content Everywhere Hub.
NexGuard, a Kudelski company and provider of forensic watermarking technology and solutions, and Colorfront, the Academy and Emmy Award-winning developer of high-performance, on-set dailies and transcoding systems for motion pictures, high-end episodic TV and commercials, released the updates to their joint solution launched in 2016.
NexGuard also works with the majority of the members of the newly founded Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, a new global coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market for creative content and reducing online piracy.
The joint Colorfront-NexGuard solution protects digital content assets, particularly 4K/UHDTV and High Dynamic Range (HDR), in digital cinema, broadcast, Over-The-Top (OTT) internet entertainment and Video on Demand (VoD) applications.
The solution enables the protection for a vast range of dailies, mezzanine and master deliverables at all stages of the production and post production workflow, whilst also allowing users to track the source of illicit B2B and B2C distribution, particularly of 4K/UHDTV and HDR content.
The joint solution leverages NexGuard’s world-leading forensic watermarking alongside Colorfront Transkoder deployments by major Hollywood studios including Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal, and Colorfront On-Set Dailies systems used in the workflows motion picture and high-end episodic TV productions including Blade Runner 2049 (Warner), Atomic Blonde (Universal), Game Of Thrones – Season 7 (HBO), Avengers: Infinity War (Marvel/Disney), Robin Hood: Origins (Lionsgate), Moonlight (A24) and The Revenant (20th Century Fox).
“Security of media assets is a matter Colorfront takes take very seriously. We work closely with our media and entertainment customers to help them find new and better ways to safeguard their content,” says Aron Jaszberenyi, managing director of Colorfront. “Colorfront joined forces with NexGuard in 2016 to integrate their forensic watermarking technology into our On-Set Dailies and Transkoder product. Now, the full integration of the new generation of NexGuard watermarking technology means we are delivering even more advanced content protection tools, to support our clients as they continue the challenge of staying one step ahead of the pirates.”
New for IBC 2017, the solution has been extended to include:
Full integration of the NexGuard Manager with the Colorfront Transkoder: Users of the joint solution can easily scale up their use of forensic watermarking on pre-theatrical and pre-aired content, and store all their NexGuard watermarking job metadata in a centralized database for a 360-degree view of all watermarking activities.
Support for multi-layer watermarking: Up to three levels of NexGuard “G2” watermark layers can be embedded in any given pre-release or pre-aired piece of content by using different watermarking keys, which do not affect the robustness and imperceptibility of the watermarks. This feature enables watermarks to be embedded at the ingest and outgest of post-production workflows.
“Last year, we joined forces with Colorfront to launch a tool that protects content when it is at its most vulnerable – during the production and post-production phase’’ said Tholen. “As the industry becomes more aware of the dangers of piracy for the creative industries, solutions that provide a robust yet simple integration into existing workflows are increasingly essential. The latest additions to our solution provide customers of the combined Colorfront-NexGuard solution, ranging from studios through to post-production companies and distributors, with an even higher level of content protection and full visibility on all watermarking activities to secure prime assets.”
Based on the world’s leading forensic watermark, NexGuard forensic watermarking adds a unique, invisible identifier to video content. The watermark remains with the content, even in the case of transcoding, resizing, downscaling, recording by camcorder or any other alteration before illegal re-distribution.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
