RTÉ will close the Aertel service on Thursday 12th October 2023.
In RTÉ’s Strategy 2024, published in 2019, RTÉ announced the closure of Aertel as part of its ongoing and necessary evolution into a public service media organisation, offering a blend of live and on-demand services and compelling and varied programming and content to audiences, when and where they want.
Since 2019, due to the need to prioritise the delivery of digital services to meet growing audience demand, RTÉ has diverted resources previously allocated to the Aertel service towards the improvement of RTÉ’s online services such as RTE.ie, RTÉ Player, the RTÉ News app and the RTÉ Radio Player app.
In addition, the introduction of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, means RTÉ is no longer legally required to provide a Teletext service.
RTÉ’s decision to close the Aertel service is based on three main factors:
- The availability of all Aertel content – and more – across RTÉ’s television, radio and online services, including the RTÉ News and RTÉ Radio Player apps, and on other online platforms and media.
- Increased audience demand for RTÉ programming and content online and through apps and smart speakers.
- 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. The technology required to deliver the Aertel service has limited availability and is not supported on many newer TVs or set top boxes.
All Aertel information is available on www.rte.ie/aertel.
RTÉ’s Information Office is available to respond to emails to info@rte.ie and to answer queries over the phone on (01) 2083434 to ensure that Aertel users know where they can find information they may have previously accessed via Aertel.