December 11, 2025

HbbTV emerges as a powerful tool for audience measurement in a fragmented TV world

As broadcasters and audience researchers face increasing fragmentation in TV audiences and specifically in the Connected TV (CTV) landscape, HbbTV is increasingly seen as a practical and strategic solution for modern audience measurement. This became evident at the asi International Television & Video Conference 2025 in Copenhagen, where HbbTV Chair Vincent Grivet outlined how the open standard can help rebuild stability and transparency in a market dominated by walled gardens, proprietary data ecosystems and shifting viewing habits. His presentation drew on both his long-term industry experience and the standard’s rapid expansion across Europe and beyond.

A positive reception at an influential global measurement gathering

The reception at the conference suggested that while a handful of players, including national audience bodies such as AGTT in Austria, AGF in Germany, Kantar in Spain and BARB in the UK, already use or trial HbbTV for analytics, many attendees were encountering the technology for the first time. A large portion of the audience expressed surprise at the maturity and breadth of the standard, as well as the fact that it already operates across multiple TV manufacturers and distribution networks at a large scale. For researchers accustomed to negotiating access with individual platform owners, the idea of a horizontal, cross-manufacturer technology offering consistent measurement capabilities came as a welcome surprise.

Fragmentation of the Connected TV ecosystem complicates measurement

The conference also reinforced a broader industry theme: the deep fragmentation of the Connected TV environment. With more than ten significant operating systems in play, broadcasters must navigate a patchwork of technical requirements, data policies and commercial constraints. This fragmentation undermines both broadcaster autonomy and the measurement community’s ability to build coherent datasets. In his presentation, Grivet illustrated how CTVs have become the primary screen for video consumption, yet the operating systems controlling them are dominated by global tech companies whose business models limit access to viewer data. Many conference participants voiced concern about the ongoing “privatisation of audience data,” a trend that mirrors the erosion of the traditional neutrality of the television set.

HbbTV positioned as an open, unified alternative

Against this backdrop, HbbTV offers a different path. The standard was created to unify broadcast and broadband delivery and now functions as a common, open environment for apps on connected TVs. Grivet highlighted that any service typically associated with proprietary CTV platforms, ranging from replay and enriched EPGs to personalisation and multi-camera streams, can be implemented via HbbTV. Same is true for more commercial services, like audience measurement or personalized advertising or on-screen shopping. For audience measurement, the standard supports large-scale data collection that complements traditional panels with census-style insights. Consent is integrated into the technical framework, simplifying compliance with European data protection rules.

Because HbbTV runs across the different manufacturer-controlled environments, it creates a harmonized,  open and transparent layer for capturing actual viewing behaviour, for instance revealing audiences for smaller, local or niche channels that legacy measurement methods mistakenly treat as “zero rated,” despite the fact that they are being watched.

Real-world deployments demonstrate the value of HbbTV analytics

Current deployments across Europe already demonstrate the value of HbbTV-based analytics. National measurement bodies and broadcasters use HbbTV applications to collect viewing data in real time, refine audience curves, enrich panel datasets and track the performance of addressable advertising. The strong alignment between HbbTV usage and the rise of addressable advertising was another focal point of Grivet’s presentation. The HbbTV-TA specification, enabling frame-accurate substitution of broadcast ads, is now being integrated into reception devices by major global manufacturers. Grivet expects a total of 15-20 million compliant devices to be in the market in 2026. This makes HbbTV-based analytics a natural companion to addressable advertising strategies, providing a transparent way to assess campaign reach and effectiveness.

Measurement specialists face wider structural challenges

However, measurement specialists at the conference described broader challenges that extend beyond any individual technology. Fragmented viewing habits, inconsistent aggregation efforts, the shift towards global streaming services and the evolving role of live sports all complicate the production of accurate national audience currencies. 

HbbTV offers neutrality and stability in a time of industry uncertainty

In this environment, HbbTV’s neutrality, horizontality and scale offer a rare source of technological stability. Europe now counts more than 100 million HbbTV-capable households, and adoption is expanding quickly in markets such as Turkey and across the Middle East and North Africa. The standard provides a single application environment across manufacturers and networks, giving broadcasters full control over their data and protecting them from unwanted intermediation. In conclusion, these developments show that HbbTV is no longer simply a tool for enhancing broadcast television but a critical enabler for broadcasters and measurement bodies as they navigate the increasingly complex Connected TV ecosystem.

The presentation by HbbTV Chair Vincent Grivet is available for download here. A recording of the presentation can be accessed here.

Details on the asi International Television & Video Conference 2025 in Copenhagen can be found here.