HbbTV has been a resounding success for the Polish public broadcaster TVP in the last four years.
Speaking in a panel discussion at HbbTV Summit Poland, Wieslaw Lodzikowski, director, TVP Technologie, said that it is no longer a novelty, with 1.8 active devices. TVP’s activities, along with those of commercial broadcasters, have made Poland into one of the most advanced HbbTV markets in Europe.
However, Lodzikowski also pointed out a number of problems still faced by HbbTV in Poland, not least of which is the lack of a level playing field. This sees the HbbTV features of TVP’s linear channels made available to DTT viewers but not DTH subscribers. Although they were also not offered to cable and IPTV customers, this is changing thanks to agreements with the operator Toya and Polish Chamber of Electronic Communications (PIKE).
Lodzikowski was of the view that this “blocking problem” can ultimately be solved by a regulator and including the channels as must-carry services.
He also spoke positively about the EU grant TVP has recently secured to develop and test 4k services. The biggest winners will be Polish viewers, who despite having bought reception equipment have little or no programming in the format to watch.
Lodzikowski, in addition, spoke about the introduction of personalised services, including advertising, and the positive future for VOD.
Furthermore, he said TVP would offer new services following the introduction of HbbTV 2.0.
