Following the example of Germany, France, Holland and Austria, among other countries, Spain has agreed to adopt HbbTV as the standard for connected TV. The Ministry of Industry has approved a formal text backed by the electronics industry and TV broadcasters including 54 companies to adopt the HbbTV standard to develop new connected TV services.

With the decision, the Administration paves the way for the introduction of HbbTV. From now on, all TV sets with Internet connection capabilities will include the standard and a label to identify them. The Electronic Manufacturers Association Ametic estimates that this year the sale of HbbTV-ready TV sets will double to 1.1 million – one in four TV sets sold.

Spanish broadcasters have publicly backed the HbbTV standard, promoted by EBU, and are currently running HbbTV trials. Mediaset and Telefonica joined forces to test a HbbTV service. “This (the approval of the standard) is one of the most important steps towards the expansion of interactive TV in Spain as it boosts the investment from broadcasters and manufacturers in the development of business models based on interactivity”, said Jose Luis Vazquez, president of AEDETI, the Association of Interactive TV companies.

Following the approval of HbbTV, next move will be to select the certification bodies to standardise the compatible equipment which should include a specific label that makes clear that the device is ready for connected TV.

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