Channel 4 Drops iTV for Web

Calling the service "the emperor’s new clothes", Channel 4 has dropped its ‘red button’ interactive television service in order to focus on developing better content for the web. Teh British TV station’s chief exec told the Guardian:

"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."

A year ago, Piers Fawkes wrote on PSFK about how the web was going to be the future to TV even pointing to an earlier article (2003) where he asked ‘Is the future of interactive TV, the Internet ?’ Is Channel 4s step the first sign that the interactive TV platform has had its day?

Guardian Newspaper Article
Channel 4

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