Sofia Digital and Castlabs have integrated Castlabs’ DRMtoday multi-DRM service into Sofia Digital’s HbbTV application stack, with the technology already deployed on Spain’s LOVEStv platform.
LOVEStv, the hybrid TV service operated by Spanish broadcasters RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset España with Cellnex as technical provider, launched the latest generation of its HbbTV application in summer 2026. The updated platform combines catch-up and start-over services with enhanced content recommendations and advertising capabilities.
The integration uses Sofia Digital’s unified client application and an updated HbbTV-compatible video player. It supports Media Source Extensions and Encrypted Media Extensions (MSE-EME) alongside legacy interfaces, while DRMtoday provides licensing for Google Widevine and Microsoft PlayReady.
According to Cellnex Product Manager Xavi Redon, the deployment provides LOVEStv with a scalable foundation for content protection across a broad range of HbbTV devices. “This gives us a strong position to evolve LOVEStv with new content and being future-proof TV for TV viewers across Spain,” added Redon.
The platform is designed to handle millions of DRM licence requests per month and supports content playback across more than 20 million unique LOVEStv-enabled HbbTV devices, according to the companies.
Sofia Digital COO Mika Kanerva said the pre-integration was intended to make multi-DRM available as a standard component of its application stack rather than requiring a bespoke implementation. “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,” added Kanerva.
Castlabs Global Partnerships and Market Development Lead Christophe Kind said the partnership combines Sofia Digital’s expertise in connected TV applications with DRMtoday’s content protection capabilities. “HbbTV services have to bridge different generations of devices while delivering the protection expected for premium streaming content,” added Kind. “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.”
The deployment also provides LOVEStv with support for future capabilities such as Ultra HD delivery, while maintaining compatibility with existing generations of HbbTV receivers.
