Teletext in North America
16 days ago
- #interactive-TV
- #teletext
- #FCC
- Interactive TV efforts in North America, inspired by European teletext systems like Ceefax, faced challenges due to market fragmentation and lack of standardization.
- Multiple competing teletext and videotex systems emerged in the US and Canada, including KSL's early adoption of a British teletext standard and CBS's French-derived Antiope system.
- The FCC's indecision and lack of a unified standard led to a crowded field of incompatible services, hindering consumer adoption and hardware development.
- Closed captioning and teletext became competitors, with some broadcasters dropping closed captioning for teletext, leading to controversy and further fragmentation.
- Despite initial enthusiasm, most interactive TV services in North America failed by the early 1990s, overshadowed by the rise of the internet and persistent technical and market challenges.