Sky Deutschland to increase security to combat piracy

German pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland is set to implement the same “anti card sharing” security as Sky UK in a bid to combat piracy of its channels.

Through the so-called unique pairing, the Sky receiver is paired up with the smartcard and no longer functions in third-party devices that are not offered by Sky. Pirates had previously used this as a loophole.

Pairing is being introduced gradually, and it is expected that all channels will go to the new encryption by the end of November.

This will mean that, like Sky UK channels, Sky Deutschland will no longer be available on card share systems.

This will also have an impact on IPTV services that use cardshare to provide the content on their systems.