November 24, 2022

Deployment of HbbTV Targeted Advertising boosted at 2022 Symposium

Prague, November 24, 2022 – Major industry players are taking action to firmly deploy the HbbTV specification for Targeted Advertising, HbbTV-TA, in the European market, opening possibilities for new monetisation opportunities for broadcasters, advertisers and manufacturers. This was one of the developments discussed at the 10th HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2022.

The annual key summit of the connected TV industry, co-hosted by the HbbTV Association and the Czech Association of Commercial Television (AKTV), took place in Prague on November 9-10. The event was attended by around 200 participants from 18 countries in Europe, the US and Latin America.

“One important trend which surfaced at the Symposium is the engagement by industry players in various initiatives to better use and implement the HbbTV specifications and make the HbbTV ecosystem more practical and efficient, as HbbTV is now a true business enabler for many companies and not just an innovation area. The foundation of ATVI is the perfect illustration of that,” said HbbTV Chairman Vincent Grivet.

The Addressable TV Initiative (ATVI), founded by German media companies RTL Deutschland und Seven.One Entertainment Group, wants to achieve full technical interoperability of the HbbTV-TA and ADB2 specifications in smart TVs and set-top boxes across Europe. The initiative is open to all interested broadcasters, platform operators and hardware manufacturers, stressed Andre Prahl (RTL), co-managing director of the new venture, at the HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2022.

Jan Vlček, President of AKTV, said: “We are very pleased to have participated in the 10th anniversary edition of the HbbTV Symposium and to host the event in Prague this year. For the representatives of the Czech Republic, it was a very successful event as the Voyo VOD service won two HbbTV Awards. This demonstrates the high level of technical maturity of our region and the readiness of clients to embark on innovative HbbTV campaigns in our country.”

Key topics discussed at the conference include the involvement of HbbTV in the new DVB-I standard, which combines linear TV channels and streaming services in a unified channel list, the important topic of conformance regimes and interoperability, which ensure that reception devices fully comply with the HbbTV specifications, and technology trends such as the opportunities for broadcasters in the metaverse and HbbTV beyond classic broadcast environments. “OTT is no excuse for not implementing HbbTV,” said Klaus Merkel (rbb), with reference to OTT providers such as 1&1 TV and Joyn which have implemented HbbTV on their platforms.

The HbbTV Symposium 2022 also featured the 5^th HbbTV Awards, showcasing and celebrating excellence and best practice in the HbbTV community. The prizes were awarded at a prestigious ceremony on November 9. The full list of the winners of the HbbTV Awards 2022 can be found here.

For industry executives unable to travel to Prague, the HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2022 was streamed live and recorded: day 1 and day 2. The Virtual Business Area provides an overview of the sponsors’ activities and their representatives. Details on the conference programme, speakers and sponsors can be found in the event brochure (PDF). The presentations held at the conference and a photo gallery are available on the conference website.

The 11^th HbbTV Symposium and Awards will take place in November 2023 in Naples, Italy.