RTÉ has confirmed it will shut down teletext service Aertel next week, after nearly 40 years.
The service – which launched in 1986 – provided news updates, TV schedules, cinema listings, weather forecasts, as well as farming and sports information.
It will no longer be available from October 12.
RTÉ was legally obliged to provide the teletext service up until the passing of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022.
In a statement, the state broadcaster explained: “In RTÉ’s Strategy 2024, published in 2019, RTÉ announced the closure of Aertel as part of its ongoing and necessary evolution into a public service media organisation, offering a blend of live and on-demand services and compelling and varied programming and content to audiences, when and where they want.”
“Since 2019, due to the need to prioritise the delivery of digital services to meet growing audience demand, RTÉ has diverted resources previously allocated to the Aertel service towards the improvement of RTÉ’s online services such as RTE.ie, RTÉ Player, the RTÉ News app and the RTÉ Radio Player app.”
RTÉ will close Aertel next week after over three decades in service. The teletext service, which has been running since 1986, will be switched off on Thursday 12 Octoberhttps://t.co/fYf3QN2HrX
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 2, 2023
