People have been tweeting their memories all day as Ceefax says goodbye forever (well, unless you live in Tyne Tees, Kent and Sussex or Northern Ireland). At Satellite TV we like to invite you to comment on what memories you have of growing up with Ceefax.
Ceefax started in 1974 as a way of offering subtitles to the deaf – it was the first ever teletext system in the world – impressive! In the seventies, one journalist ran the whole system. Information was intended to provide a one page information update whilst the channels were down overnight (yes, thats right kids – television wasn’t 24 hours a day back then!) It grew in popularity and in 1983 they began offering computer games known as telesoftware.
The advantage with Ceefax was it offered you immediacy of news breaking stories during the day that the newspapers couldn’t provide. Also, all information from holiday deals to sporting news to TV listings was all available in one place. This was all in the age before the internet so having somewhere easily accessible, free and available 24/7 was a godsend.
Today, as the Crystal Palace transmitter was switched from analogue to digital, more than 5 million households lost access to the Ceefax service forever across London and the Home Counties. Although it is still available in the 3 regions of Tyne Tees, Kent and sussex and Northern Ireland(who will keep analogue for another 6 months), you will all we’re sure, have some memories of using Ceefax. As hundreds of people took to tweeting RIP Ceefax, we look at why the service was so loved.
Similar to the red button digital service, Ceefax had mountains of information at your fingertips. There used to be pages and pages of holiday deals, a ‘now and next’ service, horoscopes, readers’ letters, news locally and globally and sport. Many people will associate Ceefax with receiving the football scores on a Saturday afternoon.
So goodbye Ceefax – many say that you were preferable to the new digital version and will be missed.
RIP Ceefax.
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