ORACLE (teletext)

ORACLE
Broadcast area National UK
First airdate from 1970
Closed 31 December 1992
Replaced by Teletext
Owned by ITV
A typical ORACLE page, here showing news from ITN.

ORACLE (from "Optional Reception of Announcements by Coded Line Electronics") was a commercial teletext service first broadcast on the ITV network in the mid-late 1970s and later on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, finally ending on both channels at 23:59 GMT on 31 December 1992.

History

It was developed and launched by a consortium backed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority at about the same time as the BBC's Ceefax service. Due to the lack of available receivers, exact launch dates have been left obscure. Receivers became popular around 1980.

ORACLE moved away from being an experimental engineering department and more towards being a content provider. Under the original plans for the ITV franchise renewal, they were to have been scrapped at the end of 1992 and the few scan lines they used given to the highest bidder. ORACLE successfully campaigned for the creation of a franchise for the teletext service on ITV and Channel 4, only to find themselves outbid by Teletext Ltd., a consortium originally comprising Associated Newspapers, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. and Media Ventures International, who started broadcasting at midnight on 1 January 1993.

In Vision Broadcasts

At various times of the day, ORACLE pages were broadcast in vision, albeit mostly on Channel 4, although occasionally pages were shown during the night on ITV.

Channel 4

4-Tel On View

Shown between 1983 and the start of 1997, 4-Tel on View was a magazine featuring previews of the day’s Channel 4’s programmes as well as back-up information and other features, such as the adventures of a dog called 4-T.[1] From 1983 to the start of breakfast television in April 1989, the 4-Tel magazine ran for 15 minutes and was repeated several times each day. However following the start of breakfast television, 4-Tel On View was shown in a single block before the start of programmes. Even though ORACLE lost its franchise at the start of 1993, 4-Tel On View continued to be shown and from 1993 until Channel 4 started 24-hour broadcasting at the start of 1997, 4-Tel On View was shown throughout Channel 4’s entire closedown period.[2][3]

Oracle On View

Between 1983 and 1989 Channel 4 broadcast pages from the ORACLE service on air. Shown in 15 minute bursts, and alternating with 4-Tel On View and showings of the ETP-1 testcard, the pages were seen during the day when Channel 4 was not broadcasting actual programmes. Initially the pages shown were from one aspect of the ORACLE service with the subject matter changing every so often. In September 1987 Oracle on View became a news service, adopting this format at the same time that Channel 4 expanded its broadcast hours to accommodate the transfer of ITV Schools to Channel 4. Oracle On View ended when Channel 4 started broadcasting breakfast television.

ITV

Jobfinder

During the late 1980s and early 1990s many ITV companies broadcast job vacancies and related information during overnight periods and the service was provided by broadcasting the relevant ORACLE page in-vision. Central was the first company to do this, beginning in April 1986, with Yorkshire following suit at the start of 1987.[4] By late 1988 all of ITV was broadcasting a 24-hour service and many ITV companies introduced a Jobfinder service at this point, broadcasting the pages between 4am and 5am, later 4.30am to 5.30am. However by the mid 1990s all of the Jobfinder services had ended.

Daybreak

For a short period, prior to the start of 24-hour broadcasting, a selection of teletext pages were broadcast in-vision prior to the start of TV-am. These pages mostly consisted of news and information about TV-am.

The end

ORACLE began to disappear at 23:31:09 on 31 December 1992. This process continued until 23:55:55 when it read ORACLE Gone 1978-1992. It was then replaced by the service from Teletext Ltd.

ORACLE did not carry television listings beyond its midnight closing time on New Year's Eve 1992. It merely stated "00.00 The End of Oracle, Now the Nightmare Begins".

See also

References

  1. ↑ 4-Tel Pages 23 December 1989, which includes The Christmas Adventures of 4-T
  2. ↑ Channel 4 Closedown & 4-Tel On View Pages 27th/28th March 1994
  3. ↑ Channel 4 Closedown & 4-Tel On View Pages 6/7th April 1996
  4. ↑ TV Live: ITV Night Time

External links

References

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