Nagra Buys Sigma Systems' Subscriber Info System For Targeted Ads

Nagra, a provider of content protection, advertising and multiscreen television solutions, struck a deal to acquire Sigma Systems' Subscriber Information Service platform, a component used to deliver targeted ads to pay-TV subscribers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sigma Systems will continue its product development and deployment support associated with the launch of the Subscriber Information Service (SIS) business for Nagra.

A Subscriber Information Service system lets service providers aggregate disparate sources of customer information -- such as location, subscriber demographics, services and usage trends -- into a single view for audience qualification and to match relevant advertising with a desired viewer profile.

Sigma Systems' SIS complies with the SCTE-130 standard for advertising insertion and the vendor has participated in several of CableLabs advanced advertising interop events.

"By entering into this partnership agreement and integrating SIS into our advanced advertising offering, we are ensuring that audience qualification is an integral part of our solution - and that it can be leveraged to deliver the right message to the right audience," Paul Woidke, Nagra's senior vice president and general manager of advanced advertising, said in a statement. "Combined with our existing advanced advertising components, the SIS acquisition sets a new benchmark in turnkey advertising solutions that can be available to our customers not only in the United States, but worldwide."

Nagra's advanced advertising solutions are based on products from OpenTV, which it acquired in 2009. The company is a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Kudelski Group.