A HbbTV service on DVB-T2 will be launched on 29th March 2017, by German transmitter network operator Media Broadcast. The service will be called Freenet TV Connect, and at the same time Media Broadcast will launch its commercial TV broadcaster platform Freenet TV via DVB-T2.
Media Broadcast stated that the service can only be received by HbbTV-compliant reception devices carrying the Freenet TV Connect logo.
Samsung’s Media Box Lite Freenet TV is the first compliant receiver and is available from retailers and on Freenet TV’s website. Other models will be introduced at a later date. Some manufacturers of receivers are also working on updates for products already on the market, and in the future smart TVs will also be compliant with Freenet TV Connect.
Additional linear TV channels, radio stations, apps, catch-up TV services and on-demand services will be available on the free OTT service without registration. All that is required is a connection to the Internet with a minimum data rate of 3 Mbit/s.
The Freenet TV Connect channels will include Spiegel TV, CNN, France 24, Euronews and Insight, as well as regional and local channels, amongst others. In total, around 20 TV channels plus around 40 DTT channels will be in the channel listing of the DVB-T2 reception device. There will also be apps, a radio player with over 600 stations, plus a catch-up service from channels such as ARD, ZDF, WDR and ARTE.
