DTG's Ranjeet Kaur joins HbbTV Steering Group to guide hybrid standards

Kaur’s election solidifies the UK’s influence in international media standards during a critical shift toward IP-centric delivery. By placing a testing and interoperability expert at the top of HbbTV's strategic body, the industry signals a move away from fragmented 'walled garden' app environments toward a harmonized receiver ecosystem. This facilitates smoother deployments for broadcasters attempting to merge linear and on-demand services within a single interface. The immediate impact will likely be seen in more rigorous testing requirements for next-generation hybrid devices. Watch for upcoming updates to the HbbTV Conformance Test Suite (v2026-1 or later) to see how strictly these new interoperability standards are enforced across European hardware.

The appointment follows significant technical milestones for the HbbTV Association, including the release of version 2.0.5 of its core specification in March 2026. Per HbbTV reporting, this update formally integrated Digital Rights Management (DRM) and WebAssembly (WASM) into the standard for the first time, providing a more secure and flexible framework for premium content delivery. These advancements are critical as European broadcasters transition from traditional terrestrial signals to hybrid IP models, with HbbTV-enabled homes in Europe projected to reach 120 million by the end of 2026.

Simultaneously, the DVB-I standard—frequently paired with HbbTV—is gaining commercial traction globally. Per BroadBand TV News (March 2026), Freeview New Zealand is scheduled to launch 'Freeview NextGen' in Q3 2026, marking the world’s first nationwide deployment of a DVB-I based free-to-air service. Similar technical trials are underway via Ireland’s RTÉ and Germany’s DVB-I Round Table, the latter of which published its 'DVB-I Book Germany' in May 2026 to define regulatory and technical frameworks for a planned September 2026 market launch.

Interoperability remains the primary hurdle for these services, which explains the strategic focus on testing leaders like Kaur. Per DTG reporting (February 2026), the 'Plugfest 2026' event in London saw engineers from 32 companies collaborate to validate the performance of HbbTV and DVB-I on consumer hardware. These efforts are essential to prevent market fragmentation, ensuring that services remain universally accessible across different TV brands and set-top boxes as the industry moves toward an IP-delivered future.