HbbTV Red Button based service built on Sofia Digital’s unified application framework brings the DFB.TV on-demand catalogue to HbbTV television sets on Astra 19.2°E
Tampere, Finland, 9th September 2026 — The successful launch of the pay-TV soccer channel DFB.TV at german TV platform HD+ was supported by the HbbTV expertise of Sofia Digital. The HbbTV solution enables interactive services on the DFB.TV channel at HD+.
Launched on 22 May 2026, DFB.TV brings the breadth of German football to television screens — from the senior national teams, youth and amateur football to the DFB ePokal, futsal and beach soccer — complemented by around 250 live events per year as well as interviews and documentaries.
Alongside the linear 24/7 channel, viewers gain access to the DFB.TV media library, providing a wide selection of matches, highlights, magazine shows and exclusive formats — available on demand at any time, directly on the HbbTV-enabled connected TV. No set-top box, app store or additional hardware is required — the service runs on the installed base of HbbTV-capable television sets.
Sofia Digital’s delivery covers the complete interactive layer for satellite households: a Connected Red Button application opened directly from the broadcast channel on Astra 19.2°E using the red/yellow selection button on the remote control, and the DFB.TV media library experience including Sofia Digital’s HbbTV application with the video player included. The application is integrated with HD+ subscriber entitlement; video playback is available exclusively to DFB.TV subscribers.
The application was built on Sofia Digital’s unified application framework, a single codebase powering the company’s broadcaster and operator deployments across Europe and the Middle East. The framework allowed the Connected Red Button entry point, catalogue navigation, entitlement handling and video playback to be delivered as one coherent product for the successful May 2026 launch — and to carry DFB.TV’s coverage of the German national team through the FIFA World Cup 2026 within weeks of going live.
Quotes
“With the launch of the HbbTV red button application, football fans in Germany can easily “access” the DFB.TV media library directly on their television screens via HD+. Sofia Digital’s proven HbbTV expertise and technical know-how enabled us to implement the application professionally, while ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience for viewers,” says Andreas Schulz, Senior Manager, Product Engineering and Management at HD PLUS.
“Together with HD+, we implemented the HbbTV application for the DFB.TV on-demand offer, bringing catalogue access, entitlement handling and video playback together in one seamless service for the television screen,” says Mika Kanerva, COO of Sofia Digital. “The project underlines how proven HbbTV technology can help broadcasters and platform operators extend a linear channel into a compelling interactive TV experience.”
The DFB.TV application is part of the Sofia Digital showcase at IBC2026 in Amsterdam, 11–14 September 2026, where Sofia Digital exhibits at Hall 1.B95.
About Sofia Digital
Sofia Digital is a Finnish technology company specialising in hybrid broadcast-broadband television. For more than two decades the company has delivered HbbTV, DVB-I and connected TV solutions for broadcasters, platform operators and regulators worldwide, including the LOVEStv platform in Spain, the first HbbTV Operator Application in the Middle East for OSN, and national HbbTV frameworks across Southeast Asia. Sofia Digital is headquartered in Tampere, Finland. www.sofiadigital.com
About HD+
HD+ provides consumers in Germany with access to high-definition television and a range of services for a more convenient TV experience via satellite and IP. Launched in 2009 as a service for satellite households, HD+ has also been available via IP on mobile devices and selected TV sets since 2021. Since 2024, the HD+ IP TV Stick has made the service available without a conventional TV connection, making HD+ technically accessible to all TV households in Germany. On new TV devices from leading brands such as Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Hisense, Sony, Vestel and Loewe, the HD+ TV app is directly integrated. It offers additional features such as restarting and pausing live programmes as well as convenient media library search. HD+ via satellite currently offers more than 90 channels in brilliant HD quality, including 25 of the largest commercial broadcasters, three UHD channels including RTL UHD and ProSiebenSat.1 UHD, as well as free-to-air HD channels.
HD PLUS GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of satellite operator SES.
Press contact
Juho Mäyränpää
Sales Director, Sofia Digital
juho.mayranpaa@sofiadigital.com
