France 24 launches HbbTV interactivity in Middle East

News broadcaster France 24 is launching a HbbTV-delivered interactive service in the Middle East with operators Orange and Arabsat.

The service will enable satellite viewers to use connected TVs to interact with France 24’s linear and on-demand content. It will be delivered in partnership with broadcast services provider GlobeCast this Autumn.

GlobeCast will provide ground services and uplink from its Paris technical operations centre. The satellite feed will be delivered via Arabsat’s BADR-4 satellite, with Orange using its CDN for broadband delivery of the HbbTV service.

France 24 already offers HbbTV services in Europe in partnership with satellite operator SES and Orange.

“France 24 is always concerned with the quality of experience of its viewers worldwide. HbbTV is one technology, which appears to be a promising way to raise the bar for these viewers. Expanding our experiment to a second region, the Middle East, means that we’ll have a reliable test to measure the benefits of HbbTV on a global level,” said Frank Melloul, head of strategy, development and public affairs at France 24.