BBC Television Ceefax, the first teletext service, launched on 23 September 1974. This service allowed BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX did not make a full transition to digital television, instead being gradually replaced by the new interactive BBCi service before being fully closed down on 22 October 2012. In March 2003 the BBC announced that from the end of May 2003 (subsequently deferred to 14 July) it intended to transmit all eight of its domestic television channels (including the 15 regional variations of BBC 1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This
Teletext systems as the "Broadcast Teletext Specification". With some tweaks to allow for alternative national character sets, and adaptations to the NTSC 525-line system as necessary, this was then promoted internationally as "World System Teletext". It was accepted by CCIR in 1986 as "CCIR Teletext System B", one of four recognised standards for teletext worldwide. In France, where the SECAM standard is used in television broadcasting, a teletext system was developed in the late 1970s under the name "Antiope". It had a higher data rate and was capable of dynamic page sizes, allowing more sophisticated graphics. It was phased out in favour