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
Service Information address of the BBC Engineering Information Department. The bulletin would then end with a rundown of the trade test colour films being shown on that particular day. ""And now we are returning to the colour test card and music until "Play School" at eleven o'clock"" would be a familiar closing phrase. "Service Information" bulletins generally lasted an average of two or three minutes but on Wednesday 25 August 1971, the longest "Service Information" bulletin known was aired, which ran for 11 minutes. A Monday to Friday "Tuning Information" bulletin was added to BBC2 in the heyday of colour coming to