TELETEXT: An end of an era.
Source: Times Online (Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Foster)
At a time when the internet was nothing but a distant dream and pressing the red button just turned the television off, Teletext was the king of instant information. But yesterday, 35 years after the service first flickered into life, it was announced that the news and information provider, one of the last technological bastions of the pre-internet age, will be closed prematurely.
Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and a division of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), had planned to close Teletext to coincide with the switchover to digital television in 2012. But the company said that the growth of the internet, as well as recent poor financial performance, had pulled the service into the red. Associated said that it would close Teletext two years ahead of schedule, in January, citing the poor economic climate and dismissal by Ofcom, the communications regulator, of the prospect of future state support for the venture.
Originally known as Oracle, the service was first transmitted on ITV in 1974, with the BBC launching its own Ceefax in the same year. In 1993 Oracle closed and the franchise was awarded to Teletext Ltd. News, music reviews and puzzles were some of the most popular offerings, leading to the business posting profits of £30 million, on revenues of £80 million, in its 1990s heyday.
The company started talks with its 70 staff at its West London headquarters yesterday. The brand will live on through its profitable travel websites as well as the broadcast of Teletext Holidays on the Freeview platform.
The BBC, whose Ceefax attracts a weekly average of 5.5 million users, said that it will continue to provide analogue Ceefax until the digital switchover is completed.
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