News

HbbTV Association appoints Service List Registry

14 November 2024

The HbbTV Association has appointed the Service List Registry to run the registry platform enabling HbbTV Application Discovery over Broadband.

The multi-year agreement follows a competitive tender process for a supplier to establish, provide, and operate the root domain service to enable online discovery of HbbTV applications. It will enable unique identifiers carried in media streams reaching TV sets to be resolved to an online address that is used to access and load an HbbTV application.

HbbTV or Hybrid broadcast broadband TV is an open specification that provides a television application execution environment based on web standards and enables advanced TV services. It is supported by televisions in nearly a hundred million households across Europe.

A key benefit of HbbTV Application Discovery over Broadband is that it enables compatible televisions connected to the internet to access and launch applications, even in the absence of broadcast service information. This includes HbbTV televisions that display services from an external device through an HDMI input.

One of the uses for this approach to discovery is to support targeted advertising, extending the addressable audience to viewers of services, irrespective of how they receive them.

“HbbTV Application Discovery over Broadband further expands the reach of HbbTV applications and services”, said Vincent Grivet, Chairman of the HbbTV Association. “The Service List Registry will support the deployment of this additional method of application discovery.”

The Service List Registry provides a global platform for the discovery of audiovisual media services. Its Chief Executive, Dr William Cooper, said: “Our registry enables media to be connected to applications using highly scalable internet technology, opening up new opportunities for media providers. They can simply register a code that uniquely identifies their media, linking it to an interactive application.”

Applications for new registrations from media and service providers will open at the start of 2025.

Further information will be available at the 12th annual HbbTV Symposium, which will take place on 14-15 November in London.

About the HbbTV Association

Hybrid broadcast broadband TV (or “HbbTV”) is a global initiative developing a specification enabling the delivery of advanced and interactive TV and entertainment services to consumers through a combined use of both broadcast and broadband networks. The HbbTV specification is developed by industry leaders to improve the video experience of consumers on connected TV sets, set-top boxes and multiscreen devices.

HbbTV is organised as a non-profit association registered in Switzerland and has around 80 members which include all global TV manufacturers, the large European broadcasters and TV platforms as well as a vast array of global technology and chipset vendors.

www.hbbtv.org

About the Service List Registry

The Service List Registry is a federated online directory of audiovisual media services, based on open standards. Registered regulators, media providers, and distributors can manage lists of offerings available online and through traditional broadcast networks. This enables compatible devices, displays and applications with different capabilities to discover and access relevant services from multiple sources, offering users choice, convenience and control, on any screen.

slrdb.org