At 11:30pm tonight, the famous teletext service Ceefax will be turned off as part of the final stages of the digital switchover.
The service was launched on 23 September, 1974 and gave viewers access to the latest news headlines, sports scores, weather forecasts and TV listings, in an era where newspapers were printed twice daily and the only way to find out the latest news was to watch the evening TV news bulletins.
The service changed the way people got their news, but more importantly meant that people could find out the latest news any time they wanted to. Although the service became a standing joke for not being able to predict the weather correctly, the majority of people relied on it for the latest National Lottery results and of course, the odd game of Bamboozle.
However, with the rise of 24 hour rolling news, the Internet and of course social networking sites such as Twitter, the demand for Ceefax has diminished and tonight the service will be turned off for good.
For tonight only, the page will show a series of graphics to mark its 38-year life on our TV screens. To find out ten facts you didn’t know about the service, click here.
