Freeview Australia has launched its free HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) service, providing Australians with an enhanced user experience through a greater integration between broadcast and on-demand BVOD services. The service will roll out from April 14.
The new product provides a streamlined way to search and discover free-to-air (FTA) content across more than 35 channels and enables free and on-demand access to a library of more than 50,000 individual programs and episodes, from back catalogue to current programs and digital exclusives.
The search function will make content easier to discover as viewers will be able to search for content across ABC iview, SBS On Demand, 7plus, 9Now and 10 play without the need to download individual broadcaster apps.
Mediaweek spoke to Freeview Australia’s CEO, Bridget Fair about the company’s newest product innovation and brand refresh.
Fair said that for the last 12 months that the Freeview board had wanted to enhance the Freeview experience and while viewers are still mainly on linear and live TV, there is a consistent trend of viewers also adopting BVOD.
“It creates a seamless transition between linear television and on-demand so it reduces the friction for the user moving between those two worlds. This makes the free-to-air platform a much more attractive place to be because you can access all the content you want for free in either live linear service or the massive catalogue of 50,000 plus items on on-demand content.”
L-R SBS’ Adam Liaw, ABC’s Jeremy Fernandez, Seven’s Nat Barr Nine’s Brooke Boney and 10’s Angela Bishop
The new HbbTV service has been built on new HbbTV 2.0 devices but is also fully backward compatible with all Freeview certified HbbTV 1.5 devices (dating back to 2014) through the dynamic delivery of different app versions to suit varying TV requirements.
Fair said that while Freeview has had a HbbTV product in operation for a number of years that this is a next step enhancement, and that this is not the final innovation to come from Freeview in the future.
“It will be an enhanced user experience, it won’t be completely different, but it will be much more intuitive.
“Whilst we are going with the new 2.0 standard the new products will be backwards compatible across all the Freeview sets currently in the market, we are making sure that we are leaving no one behind.
“We are in a state of continuous improvement for this service, but we will be focusing on making sure that this product is delivered to market well before we start looking at next stages.”
Refreshing the Freeview brand
Freeview has also unveiled a refreshed brand identity which consolidates the Freeview branding under one easily identifiable logo. This is the first significant brand refresh since Freeview launched in 2008 and is deliberately consistent with the UK’s brand to demonstrate international support for HbbTV.
“With the launch of the new product we wanted a new and fresh brand identity. We were very conscious that we had a disjointed brand because we had three separate products in market with three separate brands and we thought that now is the time to ensure that we have consistency across all our products,” said Fair.
“We wanted to make sure that there is consistency across all the way that people accessed Freeview.”
Freeview’s brand refresh and launch of HbbTV is supported by 15′ and 30′ TVCs – broadcast and digital – which launch early May, plus dedicated digital, social and PR campaigns.
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Top Photo: Freeview Australia’s CEO, Bridget Fair