Tag: BBC Red Button

BBC Red Button Service to Continue

The BBC will now continue the text based Red Button information service. However, there will be further reductions in the content available.

From November 2020, Lottery results will no longer be available on the Red Button. From mid 2021, English regional sport pages and individual sports’ headlines (except football and those on the main sport pages) will be removed. National sport indexes for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales, will be retained alongside all sport fixtures and results.

Additionally, the BBC News & BBC Sport connected TV apps with be withdrawn before the end of the year, as will the lottery and weather pages on connected TVs. Video content on these apps will be moved to the iPlayer.

BBC to Close Ceefax Replacement

BBC LogoThe BBC is to close the Red Button digital text service, which allows viewers to access news and other information via their TV. Original a digital replacement for the analogue Ceefax system, the Red Button text service will close next year.

With the introduction of internet connected smart TVs, the BBC introduced a Red Button + service in 2012, which allows for text and images to be displayed. This will continue, but is only available on compatible TVs connected to the internet.

Due to financial pressures, it is no longer cost effective for the BBC to maintain two distinct versions of the Red Button service. The move will impact some viewers who have poor or no broadband facility, or an older television which does not support the Red Button + service,