On the 7th of December, the hybrid terrestrial TV platform will start featuring video footage presented by Legia Warszawa. This is the first project of its kind in Poland, which stems from cooperation between the Warsaw-based football club and Emitel, the technical terrestrial television operator in Poland. The new service will also feature live broadcasts and other interactive content produced by the Warsaw-based club.
Thanks to the cooperation between Legia Warszawa and Emitel, the Multiplex 8 hybrid TV portal will feature content produced by the Warsaw-based football club, including materials currently available on the club’s YouTube channel, as well as –eventually – unique content and broadcasts from sparring games. In the beginning, the new service is going to present things such as behind-the-scenes information from games, “Ł3” Studio and club news unavailable on traditional television.
“Terrestrial TV remains the most popular platform for watching TV broadcasts in Poland. The launch of the video content channel on Multiplex 8 will enable Legia Warszawa to reach an even wider group of fans all over Poland. It is also a pioneering solution in Poland – the channel of the Warsaw-based football club is the first such channel to appear on the hybrid multiplex platform. This is a good direction, because the trends observed around the world show that traditional television and the Internet are becoming more and more interspersed, while many viewers expect access to additional content on their TV screens,” says Andrzej J. Kozłowski, President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.
As part of the additional services available on Multiplex 8, Emitel provides viewers with a hybrid television service – the so-called HbbTV – offering additional services such as a guide to television broadcasts, current news, weather forecast and radio broadcast offer, including RMF, Radio ZET and the Polish Radio. Now the hybrid television offer is going to be enriched with video content produced especially for the fans of Legia Warszawa – the largest and most recognisable football club in Poland.
“The production and distribution of video content is one of Legia’s strategic marketing and commercial objectives. We are among the most media-oriented Polish brands, our fans expect us to provide them with exclusive materials showing what the club looks like behind-the-scenes. We already reach millions of people through our social media. Cooperation with Emitel will enable us to further increase the our impact and take advantage of the potential of hybrid television. The new platform will also enable us to develop our e-commerce activities and to offer innovative solutions for our sponsors,” said Dariusz Mioduski, President of Legia Warszawa.
Terrestrial TV in Poland is used by over 6 million households, which makes it the most popular platform for watching TV broadcasts. The ever-increasing availability of broadband Internet is driving the consumption of multimedia content. One of the forms of delivering such content to viewers is hybrid television, which is dynamically developing in countries such as Germany and France, in particular in terms of sports-related content. Thanks to the use of HbbTV, the Sport1 TV channel provides additional attractive content for football fans. Audiences can play clips from the Bundesliga, Primera Division, Serie A, Ligue 1, UEFA European League, as well as fragments of Der Volkswagen Doppelpass, a programme for German football fans, which enjoys the greatest popularity in the country.
Hybrid TV services enable the viewers to turn an ordinary TV into a multimedia entertainment centre. The ability to play multimedia content delivered over the Internet enables the broadcasters to provide additional content on demand, as well as taking advantage of streaming content delivery method. HbbTV also enables the implementation of innovative, interactive and personalised advertising campaigns, which significantly increases their effectiveness. Additionally, HbbTV enables taking advantage of interactive applications provided over the Internet on TV sets. Pairing the application with the broadcast provides an opportunity to interact with the audience, as well as to run contests and quizzes and to provide additional information related to the current broadcast.
The portal can be used by all viewers of digital terrestrial television receiving Multiplex 8 programmes with a TV set connected to the Internet and supporting HbbTV functionality. Virtually all TV sets currently offered in retail chains in Poland are equipped with this functionality.
