Czech Television prepares HbbTV pilot broadcast with ANTIK Technology

Czech public service broadcaster Czech television teams up with Slovak digital TV hardware producer ANTIK Technology to test the HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) service broadcasting

Czech television (Česká televize) and Slovak manufacturer of set-top boxes ANTIK Technology work on deploying HbbTV pilot broadcast. The HbbTV service will be developed, hosted and tested in Slovak telecommunication operator ANTIK Telecom’s network with 40,000 subscribers. Later testing will be carried out in Czech Republic.

The new HbbTV service will provide Czech Television with the possibility to make supplementary content and services available to the wide public, including archive, video streaming and regional programs. During the testing phase, HbbTV service will be delivered over broadband and running on ANTIK Technology’s Juice set-top boxes.

“We plan to develop a hybrid broadcasting platform accessible through new generation set-top boxes to all types of modern TV regardless of the manufacturer,” says Milan Fridrich, the head of the public broadcaster’s new media division. “ANTIK Technology proposed a cooperation, which will enable them to test their devices and searched for a partner which considers HbbTV perspective,” Fridrich adds. Czech television broadcasts 24 hours a day on its channels CT1, CT2, CT24 and CT 4 SPORT using terrestrial and satellite signal distribution. Milan Fridrich from Czech Television estimates that one tenth of Czech Television viewers could be using HbbTV within the next five years.

“HbbTV is a great example of an effective interactive service enhancement and it becomes an accepted standard throughout Europe, so we are proud to help Czech television to deploy this service,” explains Igor Kolla, ANTIK Technology’s CEO. Among the broadcasters in Central Europe, Czech television is a pioneer of bringing new services despite the fact, that it is a public service television. After CT24 news channel mobile apps, HbbTV should be the next service that will bring additional experience to the wide public.

“HbbTV” (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is a major new pan-European initiative aimed at harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of entertainment to the end consumer through connected TVs and set-top boxes. Services and products with HbbTV standard can operate over various broadcasting technologies, such as satellite, cable, or terrestrial networks. Thanks to the HbbTV, consumers will be able to access new services from entertainment providers (broadcasters, online providers and CE manufactures), including catch-up TV, video on demand (VoD), interactive advertising, personalisation, voting, games and social networking as well as programme-related services such as digital text and EPGs.