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The end is nigh for BBC Red Button text service

Posted on 17th September 2019 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 21st March 2021 Filed under Opinion

The end of the BBC’s Red Button text service early next year will mark the end of an era. It is the end of the service designed as the direct successor to Ceefax.

It is teletext in all but name and its closure means the effective end of teletext in the UK. But will its demise be a real blow to many?

There are no publicly available figures on the number of people who regularly use the service. Nor are there figures which say how many of its users also use the BBC website or BBC News App.

However one risk is that its loss could be a blow to some parts of the community – those who don’t have access to the internet or consciously don’t want to have access to it.

This may seem Luddite but some people, particularly some older people, may be sceptical of change or new technology – which is not to be ageist as others love the opportunities of the internet. There are also the socially excluded or disadvantaged to consider. Access to the Red Button comes as standard with Freeview.

However the question for the BBC is whether maintaining the service is really worth the cost and effort.

In recent years, there has been little editorial effort – the pages generally consist of the first 4 paragraphs of pieces from the BBC website. Sometimes the stories don’t even make sense in that form.

So will the end of the service bring about an outcry like the end of BBC Three and the proposal to shut BBC Radio 6 Music? Or will the text service go unmourned?

Certainly previous outcries have sometimes been a surprise to the corporation – not least a revolt against a plan in the 90s to axe Radio 4 long wave.

But even if the end arouses little controversy it will be a shame to let it go unnoticed.

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PICTURED: BBC Red Button text service index page. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

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Tags: BBC, Red Button Text Services, Teletext

Dates for the Diary

30th January: BBC Reporting Scotland moves to a temporary set. The programme will move back to a refurbished Studio C in the summer.

30th/31st January: BBC One East HD and BBC One East Midlands HD launch on satellite.

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

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