Teletext to switch off in January

In my opinion, very sad news, and I say that as a very long-term user of Teletext.

A BBC news story says :-

Teletext to switch off in January

The Teletext news and information service on analogue channels will end in January next year, two years ahead of schedule, its owner has announced.

The service will close early owing to "current economic conditions", said Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).

Teletext services are broadcast on the UK's free-to-air commercial channels - ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

Some digital services will also halt, but holiday services on Freeview and other commercial pages will remain.

Travel sites Teletextholidays.co.uk, Thisistravel.co.uk and Villarenters.co.uk will also stay in operation.

Falling audiences

All Teletext's news and information services - both on analogue and digital - will cease in January 2010, putting 70 jobs at risk at the unit's base in Chiswick, west London.

"The continued fragmentation of television audiences and the growth in the use of the internet has resulted in a significant reduction in the audience and volume of commercial activity generated by the television services," DMGT said.

The move was also blamed on industry regulator Ofcom, which had indicated Teletext could lose its public service licence after 2014 - which would mean that Teletext would have to pay for the signal that carries its text-based news service.

DGMT said: "This has also contributed to the decision to discontinue the public service."

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8154022.stm

Above I said I am a very long-term user of Teletext, and even now I use it every day. I first got a Teletext-enabled TV in 1979, and I did that in order to view the details of the General Election results. At the time Teletext-enabled TVs were quite rare, and I have been told that I am one of the first 30000 users of Teletext in the UK. At that time Teletext-enabled TVs had a premium price, for the extra functionality. Now of course the technology is incorporated automatically into every TV, at no extra cost.

As I understand it it is only the Teletext on the commericial stations that is going to disappear next year. The BBC intend to maintain their Ceefax service, and to that I say, "BBC, keep up the good work!"

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