In Broadcast - February 2018 - 22

22

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 8 - Issue 2 | February 2018

InForm

IBB & OTT Deployments
And Progress
Dr Amal Punchihewa, Director Technology and Innovation
of ABU, considers Integrated Broadcast-Broadband (IBB)
and Over-the-Top (OTT) services in APAC...

T

he recent launch of what is called
red button for Toggle service of
Mediacorp is a clear indication of the
value of IBB services. Toggle service
was first launched in 2013 as a pure ondemand service in the form of an OTT
offering.
In 2014, broadcasters launched
Freeview Plus service in Australia
based on Hybrid Broadcast Broadband
TV (HbbTV).
HbbTV is an Integrated BroadcastBroadband engine that enables a high
level of interactivity and the ability
to offer on-demand services as OTT
through the broadband. In 2015, New
Zealand broadcasters joined the club
by introducing Freeview Plus service in
the country. Public broadcaster TVNZ
in New Zealand has observed improved
viewership and audiences, leading to
increased market share.
HbbTV can offer catch-up services
complementing the broadcast services
through online delivery using the
broadband. Such access serves the
changing viewing habits of audiences
due to their busy lifestyles.
HbbTV can also support pause and
rewind functions. It can also provide
recommendations
and
manage
favourites and reminders. This has
been proven in Australia and New
Zealand. With strong local and other
contents, Freeview Plus is proven to
be robust against new entrants to their
markets including OTT players. They
will also operate HbbTV based services
in terrestrial (DTT) and satellite (DTH).
With the companion or second screen
device operation, HbbTV services
could meet the demands of current
audiences.
All of these explain why Toggle
wants to embrace HbbTV or in general
any IBB engine, complementing
its broadcast services through
the Internet. It is a topic that was
discussed in many fora that pure
OTT service has poor profitability.
Mediacorp may be able to achieve
improved audiences through the

seamless navigation that HbbTV could
offer with high levels of interactivity.
In the broadcast industry, especially
the broadcasters in Asia-Pacific
are embracing HbbTV and other
IBB technologies to offer hybrid
broadcasting. IBB helps to keep up
with evolving viewing habits and media
market conditions.
Singapore - Toggle
The most recent deployment
is MediaCorp's Toggle service in
Singapore. Mediacorp is the national
broadcaster in Singapore. It has the
widest range of media platforms
spanning digital, television, radio, print
and out-of-home media. Its mission
is to engage, entertain and enrich
audiences by harnessing the power of
creativity. The company has over 50
products and brands in four languages
(English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil),
reaching out to virtually all adults in
Singapore. Mediacorp offers Channel
NewsAsia International, drama coproductions and collaborations in
magazine publishing and online
media. Its investments include a
majority share in Kapanlagi Network,
Indonesia's largest independent digital
media and in Malaysia's digital games
publisher Cubinet Interactive. It also
has stakes in Reebonz, one of the
region's fastest growing luxury online
retailers, and Vietnam television's
International Media Corporation.
Toggle is Mediacorp's bilingual
OTT service with entertainment and
lifestyle content. Mediacorp claims
that it redefines TV viewing altogether,

Toggle's Website

going beyond the television set,
offering a wide variety of local
content options - catchup, Toggle
Originals, live coverage of key events,
behind-the-scene insights to viewers
across multiple devices - computer,
laptop, tablet, mobile phone, Smart TV
and game consoles. The content can be
accessed by logging on to www.toggle.
sg or downloading the app on iPhone,
iPad, Android devices, Smart TVs and
Microsoft Xbox One.
Recently Toggle launched a new
service that brings together live
broadcast TV and its vast catalogue
of video-on-demand (VOD) services
into a single seamless environment.
According to Mediacorp, the new
service, called Toggle Red Button
provides a huge leap forward in the
free-to-air TV viewing experience.
Users can access the service just
by pressing the red button on the
TV remote control, which will give
them direct access to Toggle's library
of programmes while watching
Mediacorp's free-to-air TV channels,
all on one screen. They will not need to
switch between screens or search for
apps. In addition, users no longer need
to use recording devices or set top
boxes and remember to record their
favourite shows - they can watch them
on catch-up through the Toggle menu
in the TV environment.
According to Mediacorp, future
developments will include services like
stock quotes, personalised watchlists,
voting and social engagement.
Audience insights gleaned from the
service will enhance Mediacorp's
audience targeting solutions for its
advertisers and clients. Mediacorp
intends to bring a wide range of
additional features that have planned
for the service. Their consumers can
look forward to new content and a
new level of interactivity. Advertisers
can also look forward to innovations
in reaching their customers such
as addressable TV features and
transaction capabilities.

Australia's Freeview
Plus is based on HbbTV

The Toggle Red Button service is
based on an Integrated Broadcast
Broadband (IBB) technology known
as HbbTV. The HbbTV technology has
been widely deployed across Europe,
Australia and New Zealand with
adoption rates up to 80% in some
markets, and a range of services such
as games, voting and contextualised
advertising. Mediacorp, the company
that runs Toggle, is the first in Asia
to deploy HbbTV technology and
developed the service in partnership
with Finland-based HbbTV solution
provider, Sofia Digital. The service
is delivered on Mediacorp's Digital
TV (DVB-T2) terrestrial network and
seamlessly combines broadcast with
broadband TV. Toggle Red Button is
accessible via HbbTV-enabled Smart
TVs that are certified for the Toggle
Red Button service, and available
on selected models by major TV
manufacturers.

Convenience: with HbbTV the content
follows the viewer's device

Toggle also allows uninterrupted
viewing, allowing users to pick up from
where they left from one platform
to another. Toggle's content goes
where the audience goes, allowing
him or her to switch from watching
on a PC to a mobile phone when a
person leaves home. And with the
wide range of content offered, from
different channels and movies to
original productions, viewers will have
a lot to keep them toggling. Toggle is
now available on multiple platforms,
including online, smartphones, tablets
and smart TVs. Programmes from
MediaCorp's free-to-air channels will
be available to Toggle users, alongside
the linear streaming of Channel
NewsAsia.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.abu.org.my/ http://www.toggle.sg http://www.toggle.sg http://www.abu.org.my/ http://www.abu.org.my/
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