26 March 2025
Ad Insertion on HbbTV
General Requirements
Advertising Disclaimer (Mandatory)
All display formats must include a clearly visible/readable disclaimer labelling the advertisement.
For this label, the following are required:
- Font size minimum of 22px, typeface Helvetica
- Background monochrome; font color must stand out clearly from background color
- Elements in the immediate vicinity (e.g. yellow button) must not be larger than the advertising label
Data Protection Information (Mandatory)
All display formats must include a clearly visible/readable data protection hint. For the hint, the following are required:
- Font size minimum of 22px, typeface Helvetica
- Background monochrome; font color must stand out clearly from background color
- Elements in the immediate vicinity (e.g. yellow button) must not be larger than the data protection hint
- The appropriate action button (blue, yellow, green, or red) with the label “data protection” must be included. The definition of the actual action button colour is made by the broadcaster. In the German market usually, the blue button stands for data protection
Safe Area (Mandatory)
No relevant information such as logos or text may be placed in the safe area. The safe area frames the screen area. The dimensions of this frame are the following:
- Left and right of the safe area have a width of 45px
- Top and bottom of the safe area have a height of 25px
Animations
- Simple animations can be realised using the GIF format (maximum of 700 KB) with a maximum of 10fps
- More complex animations must be mapped using a VPAID. For reasons of quality assurance and the special requirements in the HbbTV environment, we strongly recommend implementation with specialised and experienced developers. For further information see Custom VPAID.
Display Formats
Split Screen
Split Screen advertisements split the available screen between the display advertisement and the broadcast element, which is zoomed in but still fully visible. A Split Screen ad is usually visible for 10 seconds after the viewer switches to a new channel. The format design is flexible and can be static, animated, or dynamised by real-time data.
Technical Specifications
Positioning
The broadcast element is positioned on top of the split screen creative. Size of the broadcast element in width, height px (e.g. width: 996, height: 560). Position of the broadcast element as offset top, offset left px (e.g. top: 0, left: 284).
File Type
JPG, PNG, GIF (max 10FPS), or Custom VPAID
Dimensions
1280x720px. The actual available space for the advertisement is determined by the position and dimensions of the broadcast element.
Display Duration
10 – 15 seconds
File Size
max. 250 KB
Overlay
Overlay advertisements lay on top of the broadcast element, which is full screen and therefore not fully visible. An Overlay ad is usually visible for 10 seconds after the viewer switches to a new channel.
Technical Specifications
Positioning
The broadcast element is positioned on top of the Overlay Screen Creative. Size of the broadcast element in width, height px (e.g. width: 996, height: 560). Position of the broadcast element as offset top, offset left px (e.g. top: 0, left: 284).
File Type
JPG, PNG, GIF (max 10FPS), or Custom VPAID
Dimensions
300x250px. The actual available space for the advertisement is determined by the position and dimensions of the broadcast element.
Display Duration
10 – 15 seconds
File Size
max. 250 KB
Extensions
The following extensions are available: Interaction, Custom VPAID, and Origin Label. Interaction allows the viewer to gain further insight by interacting with the ad. Custom VPAID might be provided by a third party to realise complex animations or additional customisation of the content of the advertisement. The Origin Label is primarily used to turn the display ad into a companion to the content of the linear broadcast stream. More info to be found in extensions overview.
Addressable TV Intermission
The ATV Intermission is a video ad that is shown to the viewer directly after switching to the channel. It has a maximum duration of 10 seconds. The ATV Intermission is framed by an advertisement disclaimer that is usually branded in the channel’s design. The disclaimer contains a countdown that indicates the remaining duration of the video ad.
Technical Specifications
Spot Duration
Suggested: 10 seconds
Video Positioning
The video element is positioned on top of the advertisement disclaimer. Size of the video element in width, height px (e.g. width: 996, height: 560). Position of the video element as offset top, offset left px (e.g. top: 0, left: 284).
Countdown Positioning
The countdown element is positioned on top of the advertisement disclaimer. The size of the countdown element is determined by the font-size of the countdown text which is measured in pixels. The countdown colour can be chosen by you. Position of the countdown element as offset top, offset left px (e.g. top: 0, left: 284).
Also view General Video Specifications.
Extensions
There the following extensions are available: Interaction and Custom VPAID. Interaction allows the viewer to gain further insight by interacting with the ad. Custom VPAID may be provided by a third party to customise the advertisement disclaimer. When a customised advertisement disclaimer is used, the disclaimer is required to comply with the general requirements of display ads as well as with the channel/broadcaster’s requirements for advertisement disclaimers (e.g. Display of the countdown).
Ad Replacement on HbbTV and OTT
Single Spot Replacement
Single Spot Replacement allows the substitution of linear TV Ads that run as single ad spots in special positions. A special Position is separated from the broadcast content with the help of advertiser disclaimers. An example of such a special position is the so-called Post-Split. The Post-Split runs immediately before the continuation of the broadcast programme and takes place after the linear TV ad break. The Post-Split is separated from the ad break with the help of trailers, promotions for programmes, and a separate advertisement disclaimer (e.g. “just one spot”).
Technical Specifications
View General Video Specifications.
Extensions
The following extension is available: Origin Label. The Origin Label allows the advertiser to swap their linear TV ad with their digital replacement ad that fits better to the contextual or behavioural characteristics of the viewer’s device.
Ad Break Replacement
Ad Break Replacement allows the substitution of linear TV ads that run within a linear TV ad break.
Technical Specifications
View General Video Specifications.
Extensions
The following extensions are available: Origin Label, Self-Exclusivity Label, and Dynamic Display. The Origin Label allows the advertiser to swap their linear TV ad for a digital ad replacement that better fits the contextual or behavioural characteristics of the viewer’s device. The Self-Exclusivity Label ensures that a digital ad replacement cannot be additionally inserted into an ad break in which the same advertiser has already placed a traditional linear TV ad. Dynamic Display enables advertisers to add additional contextual information dynamically to the inserted digital ad (e.g. the closest dealer).
General Video Specifications
| Video Type MP4, H.264 Resolution 1920x1080px Profile 4.0 high, optimised for web | Loudness ~-23 LUFS Frame Rate 25fps Bit Rate 256/15000 KBit/s min. a/v Bit rate |
Extensions Overview
Interaction
The interaction extension is applicable to display and the ATV intermission. The viewer can interact with the ad by clicking the coloured button that the broadcaster designates for interactive advertisements. The coloured button for interaction is usually the yellow button. The display ad needs to include the appropriate coloured button with a label that is clearly visible/readable and contains a comprehensible call-to-action (e.g. “Start video now”). There are three modes of interaction: click-to-video, click-to-image, and click-to-microsite.
Click-to-Video
A full-screen video is shown to the viewer and the broadcast element is not visible. The video that is played needs to comply with the following specifications.
Technical Specifications
View General Video Specifications.
Maximum Duration
55 seconds
Click-to-Image
A full-screen image is shown to the viewer but the broadcast element is still visible. The image that is displayed needs to comply with the following specifications.
Technical Specifications
Positioning
The broadcast element is positioned on top of the image. The broadcast element dimension is 320x180px. Broadcast element position as offset top and left in px.
File Type
JPG, PNG
Dimensions
1280x720px. The actual available space for the advertisement is determined by the position and dimensions of the broadcast element.
File Size
max. 250 KB
Click-to-Microsite
By clicking the interaction button the viewer navigates to custom Microsites that allow more complex modes of interaction
Origin Label
The Origin Label extension is applicable to display, single spot replacement, and ad break replacement. The Origin Label ensures that only certain Line Items are applicable for certain ad insertion opportunities. The Origin Label can be used to display a specific Line Item at the right moment in the linear broadcast content.
Both Line Item and opportunity need to be labelled with the same value as the Origin Label in order for restricted ad selection to work properly. Therefore the broadcaster or their service provider needs to support labelling the ad insertion opportunity.
In the case of video ads, the origin label provides a way to individualise the creative shown to the viewer’s device. This individualisation can be based on contextual features such as the geolocation of the device or on behavioural features such as the spots of the campaign that the device has already played.
In the case of display ads:
- Split screen creatives are usually used as a digital companion to a linear TV ad that provides additional information
- Overlay creatives are usually used to provide HbbTV-specific modes of interaction. (e.g. given in the linear broadcast content, there is a call to action in combination with a QR code, and the matching overlay creatives show the QR code with a prompt to use a coloured button
Self-Exclusivity Label
The Self-Exclusivity Label extension is applicable to ad break replacement. The Self-Exclusivity Label ensures that specific Line Items are not applicable for certain ad insertion opportunities. The Self-Exclusivity Label can be used to make sure that certain campaigns are not able to run in the context of certain linear broadcast contents. Both Line Item and opportunity need to be labelled with the same value as Self-Exclusivity in order for restricted ad selection to work properly. Therefore the broadcaster or their service provider needs to support labeling the ad insertion opportunity. In the case of video ads, the Self-Exclusivity Label provides a means to ensure that the digital ad of a given advertiser cannot be a replacement ad in ad breaks where the linear ad of the same advertiser is already running.
Dynamic Display
The Dynamic Display extension is applicable to ad break replacement. The Dynamic Display Extension allows advertisers to dynamically display information within the replacement spot of an ad break. This is accomplished by overlaying an image at a certain position for a certain timeframe over the spot. The image is retrieved by the viewer’s device via HTTP/S during runtime. The endpoint needs to be hosted by a trusted party. For safety reasons, if the endpoint does not deliver a valid response, the space where the dynamic display image should be overlayed needs to be filled in a way that a viewer does not notice the absence of dynamic display.
Technical Specifications
Endpoint Access
The URL to the endpoint needs to be provided. The endpoint must support HTTP and HTTPS requests equally and answer in the requested protocol. In order to comply with CORS policies, the “Access-Control-Allow-Credentials” header must be set to true and the “Access-Control-Allow-Origin” header must be to the requesting domain. The URL might contain ad server macros.
Endpoint Response Format
The JSON object needs to have a “timeframe” property and a “creative” property. The “timeframe” is a JSON object that is required to have the properties “startInSeconds” and “endInSeconds” (values: number) that express the display duration. The “creative” is also a JSON object and it contains the properties “path”, “size”, and “position”. The value of the property “path” contains a string that is an escaped URL to the image which should be displayed. The “size” is a JSON object that is required to have properties “width” and “height” (values: number) that express the dimensions of the image. The “position” is a JSON object that is required to have properties “top” and “left” (values: number) that express the positioning of the image.
Position
The Dynamic Display image is positioned as offset top and left px (e.g. top: 0, left: 284)
File Type
JPG, PNG
Dimensions (size)
Recommended 420x240px
Maximum 1280x720px
Display Duration (timeframe)
Minimum display start in seconds: 0s (Start of the video ad)
Maximum display end in seconds: Duration of the video ad minus 5 seconds
File Size of the Image
max. 250 KB
Third-Party Add-Ons
Microsites
Microsites offer the viewer additional information and additional modes of interaction. The viewer accesses Microsites by clicking the appropriate coloured button during the duration of the ad. In order to enable this kind of interaction the ad must contain a clearly visible/readable label that contains a comprehensible call-to-action. The broadcast element is required to be visible within the context of the microsite. The only exception is when the viewer starts the playback of a video inside the microsite. From a technical perspective a microsite is a website optimised for the particular requirements of HbbTV and hosted by smartclip. Since it is hosted by smartclip a microsite must comply with smartclip’s consent. Therefore no links to external sites or other tracking mechanisms are allowed for microsites. To provide tracking and reporting information smartclip employs the open source solution Matomo. All requests take place within the smartclip domain only. An anonymisation proxy is used for integrating external tracking services and server use scripts. Check using network sniffer (Charles / Fiddler) JSONP / CORS restrictions.
Technical Specifications
Safe Area
No relevant information such as logos or text may be placed in the safe area. The safe area frames the screen area. The dimensions of this frame are the following:
- Left and right of the safe area have a width of 45px
- Top and bottom of the safe area have a height of 25px
Broadcast Element
The minimum size of the broadcast element is 320x180px (positioning variable)
Navigation Bar
The navigation bar provides the standardised HbbTV navigation via the coloured buttons and it is located at the bottom of the screen. The size of the navigation bar is 1280x54px. The navigation bar must show the broadcaster-designated coloured buttons for leaving the microsite and for data protection with the matching clearly visible/readable labels.
Custom VPAID
Custom VPAID allows specialised and experienced HbbTV developers to leverage the HbbTV platform to deliver a more complex experience. This entails more complex animations as well as further customising the ad to the context of the viewer’s device. For reasons of quality assurance and the special requirements in the HbbTV environment, we strongly recommend implementation with specialised and experienced developers. Due to the complex nature of the HbbTV environment, smartclip might reject or request changes to the delivered custom VPAID.
