By Dr Amal Punchihewa
From AI-driven production tools and cloud workflows to multi-platform delivery challenges and the complexities of content discovery, a recent IEEE Broadcast Technology’s television panel took a deep dive into a broad range of developments that are now redefining how television content is produced, distributed, and consumed.
It noted that Freeview New Zealand has officially announced the launch of Freeview NEXTGen, the natural evolution of next-generation television broadcasting distribution using the DVB-I standard. Several European markets, including Germany, Italy, Ireland, and Spain, are also conducting DVB-I trials.
DVB-I is a service layer that allows services delivered from any network type to be discovered transparently on the end-user side. This network-agnostic approach allows broadcasters to adopt a flexible and hybrid use of the most appropriate delivery network, including non-DVB ones.
The open DVB-I standard facilitates integrated access to linear television via IP streaming. serving as an Internet-centric method for signalling and discovering TV services, whether delivered through IP or broadcast networks. This information is then presented to viewers via an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), eliminating the need to launch separate applications.
Over a decade, Integrated Broadcast Broadband (IBB) technologies such as Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) have integrated over-the-air broadcasting with broadband distribution. DVB-I takes this further, deepening the integration of streaming and traditional TV, and is expected to play a pivotal role in enabling future IP-dominant broadcast distribution.
Television is undergoing a rapid and disruptive transformation, having evolved from a system of limited broadcast channels to an environment where content can be accessed everywhere, at any time, and on any device. Tech giants and large global players now dominate streaming services, video sharing platforms, and social media.
National and local broadcasters, including public service media (PSM) providers, are fighting for visibility in an increasingly competitive and fragmented market. As audiences shift to accessing news online rather than through regulated, trusted sources such as PSM or their television receivers at home, the ability of trustworthy news providers to reach audiences and foster informed public dialogue is being steadily weakened.
The media plays an important role in fostering social cohesion and a healthy democracy, facilitating the shared understanding that helps people trust and engage with one another. Yet, many nations are facing fundamental challenges that are disrupting those environments.
Broadcasters have traditionally served three main functions, the most important being to inform society. While broadcasters increasingly use social media to disseminate information alongside their terrestrial, satellite, and online channels, social media platforms have been leveraging trustworthy broadcast content without reciprocal consideration. This points to the need for mechanisms that make social media a more accountable channel for trusted news, with national and local news publishers and broadcasters easily discoverable within these platforms.
In countries such as New Zealand and the UK, the television market is shifting from traditional broadcast distributions such as digital terrestrial TV (DTT), towards online distribution through the streaming of free-to-access linear television services.
The UK government has committed to maintaining DTT until at least the end of 2034, with consultations currently underway on what will follow. The regulatory framework for TV services continues to protect audiences from harmful content, support media providers, and enable creative industries to thrive.
Various countries, including New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, have begun or implemented broadcast and media reforms. While large technology firms often characterise regulation as an unwelcome constraint, some form of intervention, preferably coordinated across countries, is necessary to mitigate harm to children, individuals, and societies at large.
In an era marked by frequent crises and the rapid rise of misinformation, coordinated media literacy programmes through education and training are increasingly important. Education is the third core function of broadcasters, which the world witnessed clearly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public service media and the wider media sector have a meaningful role to play in building awareness and scaling media literacy among the public.
The UK government recently published a Green Paper setting out a new strategic direction for media policy, including a consultation on Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) prominence on social media, launched in June 2026. The UK has six PSM providers: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, STV and S4C.
PSM content needs to be easy to find on the platforms and television receivers through which people access TV services. Broadcast reforms in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have either implemented or examined the need for prominence on third-party platforms, including video-sharing platforms and TV receivers.
As with the launch of DTT and Freeview services years ago, governments generally prefer industry-led, voluntary agreements to achieve increased prominence in a way that is sustainable and satisfactory to all parties. However, where such agreements fall short of delivering a country’s objectives, legislation may need to follow.
In the UK, it is expected that large technology companies will work with the government to implement new prominence rules. Reports suggest the government has indicated that legislation could follow if those organisations fail to act.
An annual study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has found that more people now receive news through digital platforms than from news sites and television channels, underlining the urgency of these reforms.
TV remains both a catalyst and an integrator of society, central to social cohesion and an important pillar of democracy. As the technology underpinning television continues to evolve, it is essential that action is taken to protect television services for generations to come.
In May 2026, Freeview New Zealand announced the launch of Freeview NextGen set to be the world’s first nationwide free-to-access TV platform built on DVB-I, the open standard for internet-based TV service discovery and programme information. The service is scheduled to begin operation in the third quarter of 2026, marking a significant milestone as DVB-I moves from trials and proof-of-concepts into full commercial deployment.
Freeview NextGen will ensure free-to-air channels remain easy to find and universally available as TV designs and setups evolve, while preserving the simple, familiar, quintessentially local television experience audiences value.
Freeview NextGen will deliver linear TV channels over the Internet without the need for a dedicated app, satellite dish, or terrestrial aerial connection, while preserving the familiar experience of watching live TV. Notably, the service is designed not only for online distribution but also to maintain the familiar television experience audiences expect.
Many New Zealand households, particularly older dwellings, have roof antennas for terrestrial and satellite reception. These connections offer an inherent quality advantage over online delivery, as they are not subject to bitrate reduction, quality degradation, packet loss, jitter, or network congestion. For households connected to both an antenna and broadband, Freeview NextGen will intelligently combine broadcast and IP signals into a single EPG, automatically removing duplicate channels.
At the time of launch, Leon Mead, General Manager of Freeview New Zealand, said, “Freeview NextGen represents momentum in future-proofing free-to-air television for all New Zealanders.
“There is no doubt we love streaming live TV, and Freeview NextGen makes this simpler than ever. While the trusty aerial and satellite will be around for a while, this is the future for TV.”
Another notable feature of the DVB-I-based service is that watching programme channels over broadband, whether via Wi-Fi or wired LAN, will not require any app downloads. The service will be integrated directly into the native TV interface and setup process. At launch, Freeview NextGen will be available on two TV brands, with wider adoption expected as more manufacturers implement the standard.
Across the region and beyond, authorities are working with relevant stakeholders to foster a safer, universally accessible, and discoverable broadcast and media services. Early adopters are already translating that intent into action, with universally accessible television broadcasting services beginning to move from concept to commercial reality.
