Teletext owner Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) has brought forward the closure of the news service once again, ending services on ITV, Channel 4, Five and Freeview this week.
In July DMGT announced it would be shutting the service earlier than anticipated and brought forward its end date from 2014 to January next year.
The group cited the rise of the internet and financial conditions as reasons in a release.
“As anticipated, 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,” it said.
But the editorial serviceon ITV, C4 and Five was shut yesterday, while its holidays service on the same channels and on satellite was ceased on Monday. All news and sport services on analogue, Freeview and online will eventually cease.
The group will continue to run Teletext’s commercial channels, in particular its network of travel websites which will now come under Associated Northcliffe Digital’s remit.
In September the Press Association (PA) announced it would cut 50 jobs as a result of the service’s closure. The PA handled some outsourced editorial and production work for Teletext.
According to a statement from Neil Johnson, Teletext managing director, it’s not the end of Teletext: “Teletext is not closing, it is changing to continue to deliver the types of products and services our customers want most. We see a great opportunity to provide greater value to our loyal user base and to extend our reach online and via new channels. Teletext has great expertise in innovating quickly to meet the needs of millions of people. We are investing in online marketing and social media and anticipate continued growth going forwards.”
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