Freeview Australia will begin testing the use of the DVB-I online service discovery and delivery specification from early 2026. This follows an earlier proof of concept evaluation. It will involve the existing free-to-air channels of the ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine, and Ten networks, making them available whether viewers are watching with or without an antenna.
Viewers will still see the same familiar channel numbers, programme guide, and easy navigation, but it will work on televisions connected to the internet without requiring an antenna connection.
“Our goal is simple: ensure every Australian can easily find and watch their favourite free TV channels, whether their TV has an antenna or not,” said Dean Dezius, the general manager of Freeview Australia. “No more juggling apps or inputs. Everything in one place, for free.”
Hamish Turner, the chairman of the Freeview Board, said: “The strength of Freeview has always been our ability to act collectively on behalf of Australian viewers. This testing program demonstrates that spirit of collaboration as we ensure free-to-air television remains accessible and prominent regardless of how Australians choose to watch. Freeview’s shareholders are united in the view that maintaining a broadcaster-led presence in the IP environment is strategically essential”.
Damian Cronan, the chief digital officer at ABC and Freeview board member, said: “For the ABC, ensuring universal access to public broadcasting is fundamental to our charter. This technology Freeview will test provides a pathway to reach any Australian household with an internet-connected TV, regardless of antenna availability or geographic location. This validation program demonstrates the industry’s commitment to maintaining free, accessible television for all Australians as technology evolves”.
Several European countries have begun evaluating DVB-I, including Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Ireland, but Freeview Australia is the first television platform in a major market to announce its intentions.
Freeview Australia brings together all the major free-to-air networks in the country. Over three quarters of Australians rely on free television that is currently broadcast over terrestrial networks and delivered online through broadcast applications. Together these account for 70% of television set viewing.
The inception of this initiative goes back to 2018, when Free TV Australia, the industry body for the commercial television networks, commissioned a study from informitv to consider the future platform for free-to-view television services. One of the recommendations was to establish a platform specification including support for HbbTV and the emerging DVB-I specification.
A proof-of-concept implementation was demonstrated to the to the Freeview board in 2024. This became the technical basis of what is now the Service List Registry unified service platform.
An advantage of DVB-I is the potential to offer a conventional television channel line-up to an increasing number of homes that do not have access to a traditional television antenna, including many newly built properties and apartment blocks. It also allows for seamless navigation between linear channels and online services. Freeview Australia says that it will secure free television for the streaming age.
Like its Australian counterpart, Freeview New Zealand is also actively exploring the opportunity to use DVB-I. In the case of New Zealand, where there is already an alignment of logical channel numbers across satellite, terrestrial, and online services, there is the potential to create a fully multiplatform offering.
Although they are separate organisations, both Freeview Australia and Freeview New Zealand use HbbTV programme guide applications provided by Switch Media.
DVB-I is an open specification developed by the DVB Project for online service announcement and discovery. It supports existing broadcast standards, including DVB-T for terrestrial transmission and DVB-DASH for online distribution. The DVB-I specification works well in conjunction with the HbbTV standard for web applications that is widely adopted by television manufacturers. Many of the concepts in the DVB-I specification are based on approaches pioneered with the Freeview Play platform in the United Kingdom.