Internet services are of growing importance for public broadcasters. Audiences are using different types of devices to access media and more media is being delivered via broadband networks.
EBU Technology & Innovation Workplan
Every two years, the EBU develops a roadmap for technology and innovation activities based on the requirements and inputs given by EBU Members. The result of this roadmap is our bi-annual EBU Technology & Innovation Workplan. Strategic programmes and project groups are set up to focus on specific areas of interest. To access the latest Workplan, click here.
EBU Project Group on Over the top (OTT) services
The topic of Over the top (OTT) services is part of the EBU's Strategic Programme on Broadcaster Internet Services.
Main activities:
- Explores initiatives the EBU can develop to help its Members in this challenging domain.
- Engages with Members to exchange knowledge and develop requirements for public service media.
- Identifies viable investment solutions for OTT services and promote digital channels to create value for Members in an increasingly competitive OTT environment. In particular, the aim of this project is to provide technical OTT service support, content acquisition and handling and a branded consumer OTT service.
- Content Delivery: In 2014, online delivery accounted for only 2% of the UK Public Service Media (PSM) audience but consumed 14% of their distribution budgets. What happens if this Internet audience increases to 20% in the future?
- Content Exchange: Can we reduce the difficulty of managing multiple variants of video files (e.g. different language versions) and exchanging content?
- Technical Platform: Members are in a technology arms race with global OTT platforms; can we help them keep pace with rapidly developing technology?
- VOD services: are there opportunities to develop VOD services which provide greater exposure for European PSM content?
Join us
If you are interested in Over the top (OTT) Services, join our group on this topic and participate in the discussions. Access for EBU Memebrs only.
Meet us at IBC 2023!
We are gearing up for a prominent presence at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam, with our stand at 10.D21, the 'IBC Tech Zone' collaboration, and a number of awards.
First multi-site 5G Broadcast trials deliver Eurovision Song Contest in Italy, Austria, France and Germany
EBU Members Rai, ORS/ORF, France Télévisions and SWR/ARD showcase how 5G Broadcast can deliver live content to mass audiences.
EBU highlights need to maintain resilient mix of media distribution infrastructures for times of crisis
The EBU calls on national regulators and public service media to maintain multiple media distribution infrastructures in order to ensure service continuity...
BroadThinking 2021: how broadcasters' online services are meeting the SVOD challenge
This year's BroadThinking conference focused strongly on how broadcasters – and particularly public service media – can survive in a world where global...
The online stakes are rising – join BroadThinking 2021
What makes for an effective technology strategy for online media services, and how can organizations make the right technology choices in 2021? Our BroadThinking...
Leaseweb to distribute Eurovision Flow
The EBU has selected cloud computing and web service provider Leaseweb as the preferred international distributor for Eurovision Flow. The agreement will...
Swedish Radio leverages Peach recommendations for content production
Swedish Radio has deployed the Peach recommendation technology in its own newsroom to help journalist leverage the organization’s vast and ever-growing...
EBU recommends measures to mitigate internet congestion
The EBU has issued a recommendation for public service media organizations to continue their efforts to avoid internet congestion and manage the potential...
Netflix’ Naz Pethani to give keynote at Production Technology Seminar 2020
Netflix Director of Media Management and Studio Product Innovation Naz Pethani will be joining NRK, VRT and MovieLabs in the keynote session at next the...
IBC: IP, UHD TV, 5G, OTT platforms, AI – EBU experts, demos and tech talks
The EBU stand is our Members' home at IBC, a forum for networking, and a reference point set up to aid Members in their planning and investment decisions. The...
Solutions emerging for broadband delivery challenges
Delegates at this week's EBU BroadThinking conference heard about the technologies and standards that are emerging in the broadband content delivery ecosystem.
Submit your nomination for the Technology & Innovation Award 2019
The EBU has issued a call for nominations for the 2019 Technology & Innovation Award, given to teams or individuals for projects that are leading the way,...
BroadThinking: reaching audiences online
BroadThinking (26-27 March at EBU HQ in Geneva), the EBU's principle event for OTT technologies, will once again gather engineers and leading experts on...
Live Radio still driving car audio
As mobile data connectivity and voice control are becoming more common features in cars, live broadcast radio continues to be by far the most popular source...
PTS puts focus on cutting-edge technologies creating value in media production
This year’s EBU Production Technology Seminar (29-31 January in Geneva) will once again highlight technologies that are changing the way media content...
EBU showcases HFR, Next Generation Audio and more at IBC 2018
The EBU is hosting demonstrations of Member-driven innovations, ultra-high quality content from production trials, meet-ups and a conference session on...
Conditional Access, multi-CDN and Live IP Software Toolkit at NAB 2018
The annual NAB tradeshow in Las Vegas is a fixture on the calendar of the international broadcast industry. Every year, EBU experts travel to NAB to present...
BroadThinking attendees consider Quality of Experience in OTT
What exactly is Quality of Experience (QoE), why does it matter, how can it be measured and how can it be achieved? These questions were at the forefront...
PEACH project expands as Broadcaster BR deploys co-developed personalization system
The Member-driven PEACH Project continues to grow as German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk deploys the Recommendation and Single Sign-On systems developed...
TV-Anytime becomes metadata standard in Nordic region and Ireland
The NorDig consortium has chosen the TV-Anytime specification to augment its planned common digital television platform for the Nordic region and Ireland.
BBC's Postgate to give keynote on media distribution at FORECAST 2017
The BBC's Chief Technology and Product Officer, Matthew Postgate, will be giving the keynote presentation on media distribution strategy at the 20th anniversary...
IBC 2017: EBU hosts technology developed for broadcasters, by broadcasters
At IBC 2017, the EBU is hosting eight Member-driven projects and showcasing its Eurovision Member Services and other solutions.
Subtitling to become easier with EBU-TT now covering the entire workflow
With the publication of five new or updated EBU-TT specifications, the format now covers the complete chain from authoring to distribution, both for live...
Resilient but forced to innovate – EBU Radio Days in Tunis
Following on from a very successful ASBU Arab Festival for Radio and Television, EBU representatitves once again went to Tunisia to host the EBU Radio...
BroadThinking considers State of the Streaming Union
New approaches to streaming significantly improve the experience for audiences and facilitate improved workflows, but fragmentation and the coexistence...
MPEG-LA to explain DASH licensing terms at EBU BroadThinking
The Director of Global Licensing at MPEG-LA, Allen Harkness, will be speaking at the EBU's BroadThinking seminar next week to explain the proposed licensing...
BroadThinking to reveal the secrets of intelligent broadband delivery
At this year’s EBU BroadThinking seminar, industry experts will highlight technology solutions as well as strategies to deliver content over broadband...
EBU prepares Multi-CDN pilot
A new EBU pilot service launching next month aims to demonstrate the benefits of leveraging multiple CDNs to deliver content to end users in a performant...
EBU Recommendation System deployed on RTS website
A new tool developed by the EBU, BR and RTS uses anonymized exchange of data to generate automated personalized recommendations of media content. The system...
EBU sees 5G as an opportunity for Public Service Media
BPN 109 explores the opportunities that 5G may bring for public service media providers and sets out the requirements that will need to be met to make...
A challenging Forecast for broadcasters
FORECAST 2016 wrapped up at the EBU in Geneva this afternoon with a call for broadcasters to get engaged. While the 90+ attendees heard plenty of evidence...
No slackers, plenty of dockers at DevCon 2016
A spirit of collaboration permeated this year's EBU Developer Conference, along with clear indications that software engineering is becoming increasingly...
All you need to know about ATSC 3.0
A new EBU report outlines the main features of the latest terrestrial broadcast system developed in the USA.
EBU stages the Battle of Microservices Orchestration
Should you use Docker Swarms or Kubernetes for your infrastructure? Come and find out which is best for you at EBU DevCon 2016.
Join us today for the annual EBU Open Source Meet-up at IBC
To learn what open source projects thrive in our industry now, visit the EBU Open Source Meetup at Stand 10.F20 on Saturday 10 September at 16:30 at IBC.
Enabling big data for broadcasters
Meeting audience expectations is becoming easier for broadcasters with Hybrid broadcasting. Find out more...
Meeting audience expectations
The latest issue of tech-i magazine is now out! Find out more...
HbbTV 2.0 and its importance for broadcasters
We all know what “OTT” is? Well “over the top” of what exactly? It’s over the top of linear broadcasting! Find out more...
EBU to showcase innovative technologies at IBC 2016
Virtual reality (VR), High Dynamic Range (HDR) and High Frame Rates (HFR) are just some of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) latest achievements...
EBU Forecast 2016: How can broadcasters make the most of DTT and new broadband services?
This year’s EBU Forecast will take place 23-24 November 2016 at the EBU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Join us to learn more about
EBU submits response to BEREC consultation on EU net neutrality guidelines
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) urges the Bureau of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) to apply strong EU net neutrality rules...
What's all the fuss about HbbTV? Latest tech-i magazine now out!
This issue of our tech-i magazine explores “What’s all the fuss about HbbTV?”
EBU DevCon 2016 call for presentations
The EBU invites sofware developers to share their experiences at the annual EBU Developer Conference which brings together the most innovative staff from...
ETSI publishes EBU Technical Specification on Cross-platform Authentication
The EBU is pleased to announce that the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has recently published a Technical Specification based on...
Moving online at EBU BroadThinking 2016
Today’s EBU BroadThinking event kicked off with a keynote from Egon Verharen (NPO) on state of the art over the top (OTT) techniques for public service...
Only 2 weeks left! Don’t miss this year’s EBU BroadThinking
With less than two weeks to go, presenters and demonstrators are getting ready for this year’s EBU BroadThinking, scheduled to take place at the EBU Headquarters...
The importance of becoming data-driven public broadcasters
As online services become more popular, it becomes possible to personalized that offering, public broadcasters must address a new set of technological...
Only 2 days left! Save your place and benefit from our early bird rates for BroadThinking
The annual EBU BroadThinking Seminar is the event where “broadcast meets broadband.” This year's event will take place at the EBU Headquarters in Geneva...
Virtually ready? Latest tech-i magazine now out!
Don't miss out! Get your copy of the latest tech-i magazine today and stay up-to-date with the latest news in broadcasting technology and innovation.
State of the art over the top services to be discussed at EBU BroadThinking 2016
The annual EBU BroadThinking seminar is the event where broadcast meets broadband. This event is key for anyone interested in hybrid services, interactivity,...
FOSDEM Open Media videos now available
Eager to build a wireless camera using WiFi dongles or to reverse engineer a video codec? Watch these FOSDEM 2016 presentations and learn more!
EBU BroadThinking Programme now out!
The annual EBU BroadThinking seminar is the event where broadcast meets broadband. Check it out!
EBU helps organize Open Media Devroom at FOSDEM 2016
The EBU will once again help organize an 'Open Media' devroom at the annual FOSDEM event in Brussels. Presentation proposals are still welcome.
Welcome to the LiveIP Project! Latest tech-i magazine now out
Don't miss out! Get your copy of the latest tech-i magazine today and stay up-to-date with the latest news in broadcasting technology and innovation.
The future of broadcasting discussed at FORECAST 15
At this crucial year for terrestrial broadcasting's future, high level speakers got together at the EBU’s Forecast seminar to discuss broadcasters' challenges...
Applying the Open Source Ethos in your Company
Audiences expect broadcasters to provide their content on a multitude of different platforms. Being able to access the content with “no strings attached”...
Are you preparing for WRC-15? This year's EBU Forecast will help
FORECAST is the EBU's annual seminar dealing with broadcast technologies, spectrum management and related topics.
How Vimeo serves a three digit million audience every month
How does Vimeo's high quality video compression pipeline work? How is software development and deployment to the cloud organized? And what does Vimeo think...
EBU participates in EIF spectrum debate in European Parliament
The European Internet Forum hosted a lively debate on the future allocation of spectrum in Europe in the European Parliament. The EBU actively contributed...
Media companies get personal at EBU DevCon 2015
This year’s annual EBU Developer's Conference will focus on how best to address the changing media landscape in relation to software development.
SCRUM inventor Ken Schwaber gives keynote at EBU DevCon
At EBU DevCon Ken Schwaber will talk about how to scale SCRUM, whilst EBU Member RTS will offer participants a 'survival guide of the Agile Jungle' and...
Annual open source meet-up to take place at IBC
Our annual EBU Open Source Meet-up at IBC is an informal event where people can meet, network and exchange ideas on open source software.
The road to delivering a personalized and data-driven user experience
The current broadcasting landscape is a jungle of new players. Companies like Netflix – who provide content to the consumer in new ways – have raised audience...
The Media Factory of the Future
This year’s EBU Session at IBC, “The Media Factory of the Future” will examine this topic and focus on the broadcasters’ next move. Find out more...
My media, any device! Latest EBU tech-i magazine now out
Don't miss out! Get your copy of the latest tech-i magazine today and stay up-to-date with the latest news in broadcasting technology and innovation.
EBU shows new tech at world's most influential media event
UHDTV, Hybrid Radio and the world’s first Live IP TV production studio are just some of the latest achievements in media technology and innovation from...
Early bird rates end soon for FORECAST 2015
Don't miss out! Register before 14 September 2015 to take advantage of our early bird rates.
Mozilla presents Firefox OS at EBU DevCon
Firefox OS is Mozilla's completely open alternative to single-vendor operating systems. It targets smartphones, as well as connected TVs. At DevCon 2015,...
Learn how to visualize anything at EBU DevCon 2015
At EBU DevCon 2015, D3 expert Christopher Chiche will lead a 2-hour hands-on workshop on usign D3.js for data visualization.
EBU FORECASTs DTT prosperity
Tremendous pressure from the mobile industry is putting the future use of the UHF band for broadcasting under threat. How can DTT prosper? Which strategies...
Take a dive into Docker at DevCon 2015
Docker may be THE current big trend in web deploymen. At DevCon 2015 Thomas Parisot (BBC R&D) will investigate what Docker really is and what are the best...
How are technological developments transforming broadcast media?
This was the key question asked by Simon Gauntlett (DTG) at the beginning of this year’s Technical Assembly in Krakow, Poland.
Hybrid is here to stay! Get your copy of our latest tech-i magazine today
Don't miss out! Get your copy of our latest tech-i magazine today and stay up-to-date with the latest news in broadcasting technology and innovation.
Android TV seems to be about apps not TV
At TV-Connect Thomas Riedl, Google’s Global Head of Android TV Partnerships presented the new Android TV operating system that replaces there previous...
David Wood looks at a new media personalization tool
Find out more about personalization and check out David Wood's latest video...
tech-i news: How does publishing online affect our workflows and technology?
Robert Amlung (ZDF) takes a closer look at smart production.
tech-i news: Media production tools in the cloud
Maurizio Montagnuolo (RAI) offers insight on supporting workflows on an advanced cloud media store.
Swisscom and SRG/SSR announce HbbTV on TV 2.0 Box
Swisscom and SRG/SSR (the Swiss national broadcasting organisation) have announced the availability of HbbTV services on Swisscom’s TV 2.0 Box.
How do we produce 'smarter'? Latest tech-i magazine now out
The latest edition of tech-i magazine is now out! This issue focuses on the producing 'smarter', future broadcasting architectures, the use of the 700...
HbbTV: The only game in town!
Today’s EBU BroadThinking event kicked off this morning with record participation.
DASH-IF addresses growth of broadband video
The DASH Industry Forum (DASH-IF) met at the EBU headquarters today to discuss and address the growth of broadband video.
More participants than ever at BroadThinking 2015
With less than a week to go, the preparations are steadily underway for what will be the biggest BroadThinking event yet! With more than 100 participants...
The Chinese National Engineering Research Center on DTV and EBU
EBU Technology & Innovation welcomed a delegation from NERCDTV (Chinese National Engineering Research Center on Digital Television) based in Shanghai today.
BroadThinking 2015: Early bird prices end soon, don’t miss out!
Early bird rates will end this Friday, so be sure to save your place for the next BroadThinking event taking place 18-19 March at EBU.
BBC demonstrates end-to-end use of EBU-TT-D in MPEG DASH
The BBC R&D's testing has shown EBU-TT-D provides the necessary functionality to allow end-to-end subtitle streaming. The MPD and encoded segments are...
HbbTV announced the release of the HbbTV 2.0 specification
HbbTV annouced the publication of HbbTV 2.0. This specification is a landmark in standardisation terms because of the linkage between the specifications...
About Open Source for the Media (and curing VVS)
The FOSDEM Open Source event this year for the first time featured an EBU co-organised Open Media Devroom. The room was full, both with people and updates...
BroadThinking 2015: A closer look at HbbTV V2
This year's BroadThinking event will take place 18-19 March in Geneva. It's main theme will be HbbTV V2.
EBU tech-i 22: Video didn’t kill the radio star!
The latest edition of tech-i magazine is now out! This issue focuses on the future of audio plus the EBU digital radio report, IBC 2014 and cross-platform...
PSM linear broadcast audiovisual streams are enormous*.
This supplement to R 128 gives guidance for an audio levelling solution in streaming based on loudness.
Report on the MPEG-H demos given at the EBU Workshop in November 2022.
This Recommendation advises how PSBs, and EBU Members, in particular, can best share their R&D and Innovations.
With streaming platforms gaining in popularity, PSMs are expending effort to create their own “Over-The-Top" or “Direct-To-Consumer" offerings.
Broadcasters' distribution infrastructure can be damaged by natural disaster and is a strategic target in times of war.
UHF spectrum below 700 MHz is intensively used throughout Europe, both for DTT and for wireless production systems.
This document is a contribution to an ongoing discussion about the future distribution of Public Service Media (PSM) content and services.
This Recommendation urges EBU Members and other broadcasters to adopt, or migrate to, HbbTV 2.0.3.
This Technical Report seeks to facilitate a discussion about future distribution of Public Service Media (PSM) content and services, both internally to PSM organisations and externally.
This recommendation has been precipitated by the worldwide COVID-19 crisis.
The distribution chains for audiovisual media services are complex and varied.
These are the EBU's recommendations to broadcasters and vendors to promote the adoption of NGA throughout the broadcast chain.
The Interoperable Master Format is a SMPTE standard for the interchange of multi-version, finished audio-visual content. How relevant is it for broadcasters?
PSM organisations produce content and services for linear and non-linear distribution. A set of distribution requirements has been defined to ensure the desired availability and technical quality of PSM services across all platforms and on all devices.
This article analyses distribution and consumption costs of analogue FM radio, digital radio (such as DAB) and internet radio streamed via unicast.
This document briefly gives the main features of the American ATSC 3.0 IP delivery suite of standards that should be finalised in early 2017.
An overview of EBU Technology & Innovation activites from 2015 - 2016.
The development of CPA has been transferred to ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), which has published TS 103 407 V1.1.1 (2016-04), based on version 1.0 of this EBU document.
EBU tech-i magazine, issue 26 welcomes you to the LiveIP Project, shows the latest on Automated Signing Production, and more...
EBU tech-i magazine, Issue 25 tells you all about personalisation, why broadcasters should go IP, and how subtitles go live. And that's not all...
EBU tech-i magazine, Issue 23 tells you how you can produce smarter, introduces future broadcasting architectures, dives into the use of the 700 MHz band, explains how hackers have become 'smart', and more...
EBU tech-i magazine, issue 22 explains why Video did NOT kill radio and what the future of radio will be like. And there is more, including Cross-Platform Authentication and a look at the state of loudness normalisation in Europe.
Broadcasters produce a wide range of content and services as traditional linear radio and TV but also as time-shifted, on-demand, hybrid content and data services. This study assessing the distribution options available to broadcasters now and for the future.
Issue 20 of tech-i includes news on newsrooms, addresses the question if FTA TV is dead, takes a look at MPEG MMT, provides a profile of the new EBU TC chairman Egon Verharen (NPO) and features two articles explaining what UHDTV will offer. And there is more...
Issue 17 of tech-i looks at UHDTV, with SVT's Per Björkman on the UHD equation, Hans Hoffmann on UHD technology parameters, David Wood on high frame rates, and a report on the recent shoot of the Eurovision Young Dancers.