EBU drive will bring Hybrid TV into European homes in 2012

Thursday, December 1st, 2011
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GENEVA — More than 20 European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Members* have agreed to collaborate to unlock the full potential of Hybrid TV for a European rollout of the technology in 2012. The announcement came as the EBU opened its 67th General Assembly today, at the EBU headquarters, in Geneva.

‘Hybrid’ or ‘Connected TV’ combines traditional viewing with the added value of the internet and smart device applications for an enhanced media experience.

This group of public service broadcasters will exchange best practices and support one another to push through a fast, comprehensive rollout of hybrid television services by EBU Members in 2012.

Underpinning the cooperation is the shared conviction that only high quality, creative content can breathe life into the promise of hybrid technology, and only a flexible, cross-border approach will create the necessary impetus.

In signing up to the Hybrid TV project, these EBU Members make a commitment both to open standards, like HbbTV, MHP and MHEG5, and to delivering a compelling new experience to their audiences.
The EBU will host a Creative Content Workshop on 3 February 2012 to enable all EBU Members to share experiences and ideas for hybrid applications. A new “interactive group” of creative experts from EBU Member organizations will oversee the sustainable exchange of best practice and innovation in the hybrid sphere.

* Participating EBU Members are ARMTV (Armenia); ORF (Austria); RTBF (Belgium); HRT (Croatia); CyBC (Cyprus); Czech TV (Czech Republic); DR (Denmark); YLE (Finland); France Télévisions (France); ARD and ZDF (Germany); MTV Magyar Radio (Hungary); RTE (Ireland); RAI (Italy); RTCG (Montenegro); NPO (Netherlands); NRK (Norway); TVP (Poland); TVR (Romania); Rozhlas (Slovakia); RTVSLO (Slovenia); RTVE (Spain); TRT (Turkey); NTU (Ukraine).