C4 Drops Red Button Service

From MediaGuardian:

Channel 4 switches off red button

Jason Deans at the Oxford Media Convention
Thursday January 19, 2006


Channel 4 has axed its red button interactive TV service, which the chief executive, Andy Duncan, branded "clunky and inefficient".
Mr Duncan said Channel 4 was the first broadcaster to recognise that the red button service, which is widely used to offer viewers extra interactive content, was the "emperor's new clothes".

He added that Channel 4 was currently spending several million pounds a year on red button services and this money could be put to better use providing other internet and broadband content.

Channel 4's decision to axe its red button TV service runs counter to current thinking at the BBC, which has invested heavily in this interactive TV technology.

The corporation uses the red button to offer viewers a choice of viewing at major sporting events including the Olympics, Wimbledon and the World Cup.

"We've dropped our red button service. At a time of lots of different possible technologies and options, our view is that red button technology is a clunky and inefficient use of capacity," Mr Duncan said.

"It's not much loved or used by audiences, it's too expensive, and it has been rather overtaken by the opportunities offered by the internet and broadband. The red button service does not help Channel 4 fulfil its public service remit and it doesn't offer a way to make money.

"We are the first broadcaster to recognise it's the emperor's new clothes and label it for what it is."

Mr Duncan said he thought red button interactive services only came into their own during major sporting events.

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I think this is quite a suprise, especially from Channel 4 - the leaders in cutting-edge TV. You'd think they'd want to embrace the red button feature and develop new ideas and content for it.

Does this mean the end of the Big Brother red button service? Or does it pave the way for a much-rumoured 24hr subscription-based Big Brother Channel?

Perhaps they just don't see their viewers using it. And it may not be the end of one-off red button events.

Would this include Teletext on 4 or is it just the Interactive stuff on DSat. I actually had no idea C4 did interactive stuff other than BB. What type if stuff is on it? I only have Freeview.

Teletext on 4 will remain as is, unlike the BBC, C4 classify the 'text' and 'red' button as different things.

The main other thing available on the red button on 4 was betting from Sky Bet and various games, it only went above and beyond that for Big Brother.

Wonder if that is the end of Red Button voting on Big Brother, it was responsible for around 15% of all votes cast last time around.

Be a great shame if this meant the end of Big Brother Live around the clock.

It's bad enough it's not available for Celeb BB - and I think has damaged the product a bit, for example last week when Jimmy Saville entered the house - Davina even told us to watch it.

Talking about voting, don't recall Davina telling us to vote by pressing RED this year, so perhaps it's not been used.

But overall, very few people indeed were using it. Channel 4 may have a PSB remit, but as a commercial operation it simply doesn't make sense to put money into a concept that nobody is using.

I expect it'll remain for interactive adverts though!


It is a shame - I noticed tonight on C4 News they were promoting a Jon Snow Podcast being available at c4.com and on OneWord on digital radio tomorrow - and though I'm sure the figures wouldn't be high, I think viewers are far more likely to listen to it if they could get it now (via TV), rather than remembering to tune in at 8am tomorrow morning.


Also, a missed opportunity by C4 I think is to use their red button service to promote their internet TV channels such as FourDocs and the fourth-coming 4Laughs.

A completely missed opportunity there.

They didn't develop the service enough and instead relied on 6(ish) weeks of Big Brother in the summer, and for the rest of the year there was what - 3 pay to play games on there.

That's why nobody used it - there was nothing worth using on it.

As said above they could have developed it and put some of their website content onto there.

I guess though C4 did have a problem in a way with interactive content for when Big Brother isn't on air.

Yes, there are opportunities for them to have regular content when BB isn't airing - but the trouble is what happens when Big Brother returns?


I think there are opportunities though for non-video based services - for example a simple MHEG application over Deal or No Deal allowing viewers to play along at home and at the end of each round decide whether they would "Deal" or "No Deal".

It's only clunky because of what they did with it. When it's done right it's very good like on the BBC, ITV and the best of the bunch Sky.

erm... ITV? What exactly is good about that?

Well a lot of programmes ahve a tie-in with the red button but Channel 4 never really did that apart from for Big Brother. If you're only going to use it for one programme a year then Channel 4 might as well get rid of it.