Saran Media goes live with Friend MTS watermarking to protect live sports in Turkey
Saran Media Group has chosen FMTS’ anti-piracy services to protect top flight live sports on its S Sport Plus OTT service
London(11 Jun 2025)
Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that Saran Media Group one of the leading media companies specialising in sports and entertainment broadcasting across Turkey, the Turkic republics, and Eastern Europe, has chosen FMTS’ anti-piracy services to protect top flight live sports including NFL, La Liga, NBA, Serie A, EuroLeague, UFC and Wimbledon on its S Sport Plus OTT service.
Saran Media’s aggressive growth strategy is based on increasing investments in high value sports, and it chose to partner with FMTS to protect that content. By using FMTS’ world-class services, Saran Media is sending a clear signal of its commitment to content security as a responsible partner to rights holders. The solution went live in April 2025.
Launched in 2018, Saran Media’s S Sport Plus is a subscription-based OTT platform offering live streaming and on-demand replays of some of the world’s most prestigious sports leagues and events. By securing the rights to Bundesliga till the end of 2028-2029 season, Saran Media has played a crucial role in bringing the excitement of German football, with its many Turkish players, to Turkish audiences. Its multi-view feature allows users to watch up to seven live matches simultaneously, enhanced by high-quality production, and expert commentary from seasoned analysts. Beyond sports, the platform also provides access to nearly 60 live TV channels, ranging from popular national broadcasters and international documentary and series channels to lifestyle and entertainment content—creating a comprehensive digital viewing hub for subscribers.
By selecting FMTS watermarking and monitoring, Saran Media is benefiting from the industry’s fastest speed at detecting sources of piracy. This is particularly critical during live sports and events where every second counts. With watermarks embedded at the individual subscriber level, Saran Media can determine exactly which user subscriptions have been compromised and immediately shut down these sources of pirated content.
Özgür O?uz, Chief Marketing Officer, S Sport Plus, said, “We are rapidly expanding the top tier content we offer to S Sport Plus audiences and take our responsibilities to protect our investments from piracy very seriously. With its long-standing reputation for developing new innovations to fight piracy, Friend MTS impressed us with their detailed understanding of the nuances of the piracy landscape and how it is evolving. We are already seeing the benefits of using FMTS watermarking and monitoring services and look forward to evolving the partnership in the future.”
Shane McCarthy, CEO, Friend MTS, added, “Live sports piracy in Turkey costs the sports sector and rights holders millions of Turkish liras each year. Not only does piracy undermine the broadcasting sector but impacts the value of media rights. When a leading media organisation like Saran invests in rights, it’s critical they protect them with the best anti-piracy solutions on the market. FMTS was able to quickly and easily demonstrate to the Saran team that our world-class monitoring and watermarking services offer an immediate ROI. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Saran Media.”
About Friend MTS:
As the number one anti-piracy provider, Friend MTS is the trusted cybersecurity partner of the biggest brands in media, sports, and entertainment. Our mission is to help content owners, broadcasters, and operators increase revenues by combating piracy and reducing the impact of illicit content distribution. Through award-winning fingerprint-augmented content monitoring, forensic watermarking, industry-first server blocking, and legal enforcement, we provide the most advanced anti-piracy solutions. Our data insights help clients understand piracy trends, optimise strategies, and protect content more effectively. Founded in 2000, FMTS is owned by private equity firm NorthEdge and has offices globally.
About Saran Media: Saran Media Group is one of the leading media companies in Türkiye, specialising in sports and entertainment broadcasting. With a diverse portfolio of exclusive sports rights, Saran Media is dedicated to delivering high-quality content to audiences across multiple platforms.