BBC teletext service, Ceefax, was introduced, created initially to provide subtitling, but developed into a news and information service. In 1978, BBC staff went on strike just before the Christmas of that year, thus blocking out the transmission of both channels and amalgamating all four radio stations into one. Since the deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster Channel 4), especially on satellite television, cable television, and digital television services. In the late 1980s, the BBC began a process of
Service Information o'clock "Service Information" bulletin from Friday, 24 August 1973 which includes the announcement concerning the last day of trade test colour films being shown. Service Information Service Information was a regular programme in the early days of colour television in the United Kingdom that gave out engineering information for the radio and television trade. These announcements were made by the BBC continuity announcers of the time and were read over in-vision captions. The programme was broadcast on BBC2 three times a day, 10.00am, 11.30am, and 2.30pm each weekday from 23 October 1967 to 1975, then once a day at 10.30am