RTÉ IS TO close its Aertel service next week after 36 years in operation. 

Aertel was formally launched in 1987 and will close on Thursday, 12 October.

In 2019, RTÉ published its ‘Strategy 2024’ and earmarked the closure of Aertel as a “necessary evolution”.

In a statement announcing the coming closure of Aertel, RTÉ said that since 2019, the broadcaster has “diverted resources previously allocated to the Aertel service towards the improvement of RTÉ’s online services.”

RTÉ added that there was a “need to prioritise the delivery of digital services to meet growing audience demand”.

An RTÉ spokesperson also noted that since the introduction of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, the broadcaster is “no longer legally required to provide a Teletext service”.

Further expanding on the decision to close the service, RTÉ in statement said its decision is based on “three main factors”.

The first of these is the availability of all Aertel content across RTÉ’s television, radio and online services.

The second main factor cited was an “increased audience demand for RTÉ programming and content online and through apps and smart speakers”.

This third main factor is a “lack of support technology available for Aertel, a limited legacy text service”.

“Many technical components in the Aertel systems are no longer supported by the manufacturer, with further elements losing support later this year,” said the RTÉ spokesperson.

“The technology required to deliver the Aertel service has limited availability and is not supported on many newer TVs or set top boxes.”

RTÉ’s added that its Information Office is available to respond to emails and to answer queries over the phone to ensure that Aertel users know where they can find information they may have previously accessed via Aertel.

Earlier this year, RTÉ’s longwave radio service suffered a similar fate to Aertel.

The LW 252 service caried RTÉ Radio 1 to listeners across the island of Ireland and also into Britain but ceased on 14 April.