Key dates in BBCi history
This started off as a blog entry but that didn't lend to it being updated - so here it is in Stuff.
Below is a list of the key dates in the life of the BBC's interactive text services. This doesn't cover interactive TV programming, nor does it cover cable platforms (cos getting the dates is harder) but does cover digital terrestrial television (or DTT - what was known as OnDigital and is now known as Freeview) and digital satellite.
- 1 October 1999
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BBC Text service unleashed on the world on the DTT platform (date refers to the date that the software became available for OnDigital boxes, and hence the service was viewable by the public for the first time)
- 13 March 2001
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BBC Text launches on satellite on the BBC News 24, BBC Choice and BBC Knowledge channels.
- 20 March 2001
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BBC Text launches on satellite on BBC One and BBC Two
- 6 September 2001
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BBC i-Bar launches on satellite. The bar provides an invision overlay with brief news and sport headlines and programme related content.
- 20 November 2001
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BBC News multiscreen services launches on satellite. BBC Text is rebranded as BBCi. Both occur in the early hours of the morning.
- 1 May 2002
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BBC i-Bar launches on DTT.
- 4 June 2003
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Digital satellite service relaunched with a two tier service - a full service in fullscreen and a 'bridge' concept - a channel associated sidebar that replaced the services existing 'i-Bar' and displays programme content as well as a range of other BBCi content without leaving the programme you're watching.
- 24 September 2003
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DTT service relaunches with the bridge, CBeebies and new radio services with programme information.
- 20 October 2003
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BBC News multiscreen service launches on DTT with two streams.
- 27 November 2003
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DTT service gets a small redesign.
- 28 July 2004
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DTT service gets a major design overhaul and becomes faster in the process - read more in BBCi Zooms Along.
- 10 November 2004
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DSat service gets page numbers. Find out more in To Tweak or Not To Tweak
- 12 November 2004
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Telewest (now Virgin Media) DCable service sees the launch of the News Multiscreen service.
- 6 December 2004
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Page numbers arrive on the DTT service.
- 8 March 2005
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New look BBCi with new logo and entry point, launched on Telewest (now Virgin Media). See BBCi Rebrand Hits Telewest for more details.
- 22 March 2005
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New look BBCi with new logo and entry point, plus some extra content areas, launched on Sky. For more details, see BBCi Rebrand Goes Satellite.
- 29 March 2005
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New look BBCi with new logo and entry point, launched on Freeview. For more details, see There's No I in Team (BBCi Freeview rebrands).
- 18 May 2005
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New look BBCi service launched for NTL (now Virgin Media) customers, if they are served by the company's Langley network, and only for BBC One and BBC Two.
- 15 June 2005
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NTL (now Virgin Media) Langley customers get the BBCi service accessible by pressing red, from BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, CBBC and CBeebies for the first time ever!
- 8 November 2005
NTL (now Virgin Media) customers in the Bromley region finally get the rebranded BBCi
- 13 November 2005
BBC Parliament on Freeview goes fullscreen. The existing quarter screen BBC Parliament service (and its associated text service) remain for a short time after but are soon removed.
- 22 January 2007
News Multiscreen on Freeview increased from 2 screens to 4. See 100% Increase In Video Choice! (a.k.a BBCi News Multiscreen on Freeview gets a bit bigger) for more information.
- 14 November 2007
Ceefax turned off in Whitehaven
- 20 November 2008
Ceefax turned off for viewers of the Selkirk transmitter and its eleven relay sites at Bonchester Bridge, Clovenfords, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick, Innerleithen, Jedburgh, Lauder, Peebles, Stow and Yetholm.
For those interested, the sources were Teletext Then and Now, the BBC Press Office, (the now defunct) Media Bullet and this very blog.