CDSA Content Owners Advisory Board Targets Online Delivery Concerns

[The following is a release from the Content Delivery And Storage Association]

September 19, 2008

A blue-ribbon gathering of senior content owner executives today tackled a number of common and pressing issues facing film studios, music labels, games and software publishers concerned with how their intellectual property travels and is safe-guarded along the content delivery supply chain. At its initial meeting, the Content Delivery and Storage Association’s Content Owners Advisory Board agreed cross-platform compatibility was a critical challenge to the content community as well as to hardware or device manufacturers. Faced by built-in restrictions in media and hardware, consumers see content interoperability as a right, and are frustrated by barriers when attempting to transfer purchased content from player to player. The Advisory Board affirmed the increasing growth and diversity of digital delivery systems, but also underscored the importance of packaged media to the consumer who relies on more traditional players even as the mobility and capacity of newer platforms are spiking upward.  With an increasing number of options for content owners and a like number of platform choices for consumers, the new business models have to factor in the technologies and economics which can make content delivery and storage cost-effective and acceptable. Forging even stronger bonds between the content community, manufacturers and supply partners is crucial for efficient and sustainable delivery systems.  Additional collaboration with retailers selling physical and online content is seen as an effective enhancement of the supply chain. Drawing a contrast between record-keeping based on the traditional physical inventory-based disc manufacturing and delivery methods, the Advisory Board voiced concern for accurate accounting for digital download sales and delivery by online retailers.  Panel members pointed to the CDSA Content Protection and Security Digital Download Standards as an effective approach to audit and certify the actions of the online retailers who are key to digital content storage delivery.  The CDSA Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs standards also require tracking of how and by whom content is handled at virtually every stage of content delivery and storage. Charles Van Horn, CDSA President, echoed the Advisory Board’s consensus about the need to educate all facets of the supply chain.  “Education about the importance of building a robust digital delivery supply chain to support the content community and increasing the awareness of the business opportunities can facilitate online distribution.  CDSA with its alliances with the content owners, the supply chain providers and the retailers is in a unique position to assume this educational role.”  In conjunction with this educational initiative, CDSA is exploring a research program to validate and measure the partiality of consumers to collecting physical media and how this interacts with the attraction of digital downloads. The Los Angeles meeting was moderated by Tom Adams, President, Adams Media Research, who provided an overview of the market’s use of packaged versus digital delivery for movies, music, games and software. Attending Members of the CDSA Content Owners Advisory Board represented the following firms: Dreamworks, Research & Development Electronic Arts, Online Services Microsoft, Media & Entertainment Group Microsoft, Xbox NBC Universal, Anti-Piracy Technology MGM, Worldwide Digital Media Sony BMG, New Technology, Global Digital Business Group Sony Pictures, New Media & Technology Universal Music Group, Digital Logistics & Business Services The Walt Disney Studios, Global Anti-Piracy Strategy & Operations Warner Bros., Technical Operations Warner/Elektra/Atlantic (WEA) Digital Operations & DVD Authoring Warner/Elektra/Atlantic (WEA) Engineering & Digital Ops CDSA established the Content Owners Advisory Board as an industry forum to promote a better understanding of common problems, issues and questions needed to be addressed by the content community and the delivery and storage manufacturers and service providers. The issues identified by the Advisory Board are referred to the CDSA membership -- the companies that build the content delivery and storage products and provide the supply chain services. Charles Van Horn, CDSA President, noted “The result of this initiative is a robust industry wide discussion and timely resolution of issues before they become problems.”

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