RTÉ's Aertel teletext news service to finally close today

It will be the end of an era as RTÉ's teletext service Aertel will be switched off today after nearly 40 years in service.

The Aertel service first went live on an experimental basis in 1986 before being formally launched a year later.

It has been running digitally since 2019.

The service provided up-to-date news, as well as TV schedules, sports scores, and gave television viewers the option of watching shows with subtitles included.

It also provided updates throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

RTÉ said the decision to shut it down was "part of its ongoing and necessary evolution into a public service media organisation".

The State broadcaster said resources previously allocated to Aertel will now go towards improving its online services.

It also said that continuing the service was becoming more difficult due to less support technology being available for it.

RTÉ said that resources previously allocated to Aertel will now go towards improving other online services and that continuing the service was becoming “more difficult”, due to less support technology. 

Up until last year, the national broadcaster was legally required to provide a teletext service until the introduction of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 was introduced.