Viewer entitlements
Deciding what each viewer is allowed to receive — enforced by signed tier attestation, not by trust.
What it is
Entitlements define what a given viewer class may receive — a premium tier might get 4K while a free tier is capped to 720p, with different DRM scope. An entitlement tier is a named class (Free / Standard / Premium) with a maximum quality and licence scope attached.
Tier attestation
Enforcement can't rely on trusting the client — a free viewer must not be able to claim premium. Your auth backend mints a short signed token (an attestation) proving the viewer's tier. The player attaches it (via CMCD); m-cdn verifies the signature and unlocks exactly the allowed renditions. It's tamper-evident: a forged or altered claim fails verification.
Enforcement points & upgrades
Entitlements are enforced in two places: manifest variant filtering (the player never sees disallowed rungs) and, where configured, DRM licence issuance (only the right tier gets the high-quality key). A mid-session upgrade is supported via webhook — a viewer who upgrades mid-stream gets the higher quality without restarting playback.
Standards & references
- ADR-072 — tier-differentiation compliance framework