Breaking news bar

The Breaking News Bar is a push notification tool that instantly displays to all connected TV devices on Nova stations. The push notification takes up to 1 minute to set up and it displays in seconds. It is therefore a very fast way to inform Nova stations viewers about current events with the option to click through the blue button for more information. The Breaking News bar (BN) is displayed on screen for 30 seconds as a bar at the bottom of the screen, on a white or yellow background depending on the severity of the news. The BN bar in conjunction with the online news channel available on HbbTV replaces the linear 24h news channel.

Description

The Breaking News bar is a bar displayed in a linear layer to all viewers with HbbTV who are currently watching Nova Group stations. If the viewer switches to Nova stations while the news is still valid, the bar will be displayed. The bar is displayed unsolicited as a push notification and informs about a significant news event. The bar carries a short text, the time of the news, the news logo and the possibility to click through the blue button to the current live news feed (TN live) or to the current article (if the online news channel TN live is not broadcasting).

The bar has 2 forms, white (minor news) and yellow (major news). The advantage is the quick deployment. The production time of the bar takes up to 1 minute and immediate large audience engagement.
Although, it is possible to get additional information by using the blue button, which has not been heavily promoted in the Czech Republic yet, we achieved a CTR of over 3.41%.

The Breaking News bar informs instantly with a big hit on current events. We see great potential in quickly informing viewers about current events in the Czech Republic and the World. Which is very important in the current uncertain situation with the war in Ukraine and the possible looming covid danger.

This year we also launched the online news channel TN live, which can be watched via HbbTV, this way the viewer can watch the online news channel on the biggest screen in the home and get additional information about the current children.
The Breaking News bar in conjunction with the TN live online channel on HbbTV replaces the pure news channel in the linear layer. Our news department is able to react quickly to current events when needed and there is no need to pay for a 24hr news channel. This is one of several pillars of innovation in our news department.

Impact

By combining a breaking news bar and an online TN live station, we are able to provide our viewers with the benefits of a linear news station at a relatively low cost. The breaking news bar is controlled from the CRA's advertising system, which is available online. Setting up the bar is very quick at 1 minute, with publication possible immediately. Speed and a large immediate hit of breaking news is very important to our news department. We reach viewers who are currently watching our stations and are thus quickly informed about groundbreaking events.

In 10 months of using the BN bar, we have released 129 news items, with a total reach of 2.38m viewers (99% reach of viewers with HbbTV) with an average CTR of 1%.
The message with the highest immediate hit was "Bohemia energy ends energy supply. Customers must switch elsewhere." The October 13, 2021 message reached 1.3 million viewers (57% of the monthly HbbTV population) with a click-through rate of 0.47%.
A report from 27.6. 2022 with a top CTR performance of 3.41% included the information ""Russians hit shopping mall in Ukraine. Up to a thousand people were inside. Extraordinary TN live broadcast"" press the blue button for action. The message was instantly viewed by 180,638 unique viewers.

Reach of the message is affected by the time of the message (off prime time/Prime time) and also the length of the message validity. CTR is affected by the attractiveness of the message. The data also shows a gradual increase in CTR, which is improving due to viewers learning to press the blue button, which is unprecedented in the Czech Republic.
The link between the BN bar and the online news station TN live substitutes for the news station in the linear broadcast.