TAMPERE & BERLIN — September 30th, 2026 — Sofia Digital, a specialist in Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) and connected TV solutions, and Castlabs, a leading provider of premium video technology, today announced a new partnership that makes Castlabs’ DRMtoday cloud multi-DRM service available as a pre-integrated option within Sofia Digital’s application development offering.
The first joint deployment is already live in production on LOVEStv, the hybrid digital TV platform backed by Spanish broadcasters RTVE, Atresmedia, and Mediaset España, with Cellnex as its technical provider.
LOVEStv combines free-to-air digital terrestrial television with broadband-delivered features including catch-up and start-over. In the Summer of 2026, LOVEStv launched the latest generation of its HbbTV application with DRMtoday providing multi-DRM licensing for protected streaming content. The new generation of LOVEStv also introduces enhanced content recommendations and advertising capabilities, further developing LOVEStv as both a viewer experience and a digital platform for the Spanish broadcasters.
Built on Sofia Digital’s unified client application with an updated HbbTV-compatible video player, LOVEStv now supports MSE-EME playback alongside legacy interfaces, with DRMtoday handling both Google Widevine and Microsoft PlayReady licensing. This helps the platform to reach a broad receiver base of existing and next-generation HbbTV devices being future-proof for new capabilities like for example Ultra HD delivery.
As a free-to-air HbbTV service, LOVEStv presents a distinctive business case for content protection: DRM licensing must operate at scale across a diverse population of consumer devices while supporting the open, free access viewers expect from a broadcaster platform. The integration of DRMtoday with Sofia Digital’s application stack provides a scalable multi-DRM foundation designed for this kind of environment.
“Thanks to the deployment by Sofia Digital and Castlabs, LOVEStv is now equipped with a highly scalable multi-DRM foundation that strengthens content protection across a broad range of HbbTV devices,” said Xavi Redon, Product Manager at Cellnex. “This gives us a strong position to evolve LOVEStv with new content and being future-proof TV for TV viewers across Spain.”
The platform is now dimensioned to serve millions of DRM license requests per month, corresponding to content playback volumes across over 20 million unique LOVEStv enabled HbbTV devices.
“HbbTV services like LOVEStv have to run across a fragmented device landscape, and free-to-air platforms have to protect the content without putting barriers in front of viewers,” said Mika Kanerva, COO of Sofia Digital. “By pre-integrating Castlabs’ DRMtoday into our application stack, we can offer broadcasters multi-DRM as a ready component rather than a bespoke project — and LOVEStv demonstrates this integration is working in well-known TV platform in Spain.”
“We’re pleased to welcome Sofia Digital as a Castlabs’ partner and to see DRMtoday already supporting LOVEStv at national scale,” said Christophe Kind, Global Partnerships and Market Development Lead at Castlabs. “HbbTV services have to bridge different generations of devices while delivering the protection expected for premium streaming content. By combining Sofia Digital’s expertise in connected TV applications with DRMtoday, we can make robust multi-DRM easier to deploy across these complex hybrid environments.”
About Sofia Digital
Sofia Digital Oy, headquartered in Tampere, Finland, has been a pioneer in hybrid and interactive television since 2000. The company delivers HbbTV, DVB-I and OTT solutions for broadcasters, network operators and regulators worldwide, and serves as technical consultant and test specification custodian in multiple national HbbTV deployments across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. More at sofiadigital.com.
About Castlabs
Castlabs makes media possible by bridging gaps between technology and audiences. Their pioneering software and cloud services empower businesses worldwide to easily deliver premium, protected streaming experiences – covering content security, playback, monetization, and workflow management across a multitude of devices and platforms. Discover more at Castlabs.com.
About LOVEStv
LOVEStv is the hybrid television platform of the Spanish free-to-air broadcasters RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset España, launched in November 2018, with Cellnex as technical provider. Based on the HbbTV standard, it enriches digital terrestrial television with broadband features including catch-up, start-over and enhanced programme information.
Press contacts:
Sofia Digital — Juho Mäyränpää, juho.mayranpaa@sofiadigital.com
Castlabs — Burcin Aksay, burcin.aksay@castlabs.com
