Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and the association of regional public media services FORTA are to establish a new pilot for DVB-I.
It follows separate initiatives in Germany, Italy, and Ireland.
The DVB-I standard is the internet-centric mechanism to signal and discover television services, whether they are delivered over IP networks or broadcast networks. The information is then presented to the TV viewer, typically in an EPG.
“This pilot aims to conduct a series of technical tests related to the DVB-I standard in order to assess its suitability as a strategic tool to strengthen and enhance the positioning of the Spanish public and licensed audiovisual media service providers,” says Jordi Mata, Head of Research & Transversal Services at 3Cat, the public service media organisation in Catalonia and coordinator of the newly formed Spanish DVB-I Working Group.
The pilot programme will take into account the unique characteristics of the Spanish broadcasting landscape, where DTT remains by far the dominant platform for linear television consumption.
Another factor to consider is the absence of a unified agreement on the use of logical channel numbering (LCN), which currently prevents its use and impacts channel organisation and navigation.
It is anticipated that once underway the pilot will run for a year.
