mb21 - ether.net - The Teletext Museum

Three Text is the name of the teletext service owned and broadcast by Ireland's third national commercial television station, TV 3. TV 3 was launched in September 1998 but it wasn't until Spring the following year that any use was made of their teletext system - which was in place from launch.

The text service was used primarily as a TV 3 programme listings service for around a year-and-a-half. In late summer 2000, the first signs of a proper teletext service began to emerge.

The service has grown substantially since then, giving their state-owned rivals at RTÉ a run for their money.

	Early 1999 saw the start of teletext transmissions on TV 3. The station used teletext solely as a programme listings service.
	A sample programme listings page from September 1999.
	September 2000 saw the start of official teletext test transmissions on TV 3. A limited service of news, sport and TV listings was made available; the Irish Examiner sponsored the news and sport coverage.
	The News Headlines.
	Sample of one of the news pages. Note the absence of any teletext style graphics outside of the service front page.
	At this point, the TV Guide carried only TV 3 programme details.
	Programme listings page.
	Sport index.
	Example of one of the sports news pages.
	Page 300 was reserved for job opportunities at the station.
	On Monday 12 March, 2001, the 'Teletext Test Transmission' banners disappeared. This was presumably the official launch date. Subtitling of programmes began the previous January but this was restricted to programmes provided by Granada, who had recently acquired a 45% stake in TV 3.
	As you can see, the service was still quite limited.
	This is the state of play by January 2002. The service logo changed colour c. early Summer 2001.
	More detailed guide to the service...though not everything is listed here.
	The day's main news stories, sponsored by The Irish Examiner.
	The news index.
	A typical news page.
	Business news index. By January 2002, still some work required here.
	Business news page.
	Dublin Market Report.
	Bureau De Change.
	The latest news on the Irish National Lottery game - Lotto.
	Movies coming up on the main UK and Irish channels.
	Movie listings page.
	Weather index.
	National weather.
	Five-day outlook nationwide.
	Regional forecast page.
	TV Listings index.
	The Three Text TV listings are considerably more detailed than those on Aertel. Indeed, even RTÉ listings are more accurate and detailed on the TV 3 service.
	Another listings page.
	The What's On Now and Next page.
	New series coming up on TV 3,
	The 190s carry some programme previews and support information.
	The successful TV 3 breakfast programme Ireland AM had its own section - 195-199.
	The main sport index. Sports coverage sponsored by the Irish Examiner.
	Index for the main sport stories.
	Special section devoted to the Irish equivalent of the English Premier League.
	Eircom League fixtures page.
	Soccer news page.
	Another soccer page...this time with a more specific page heading. This style of banner was discontinued in late Autumn 2001 in favour of the above 'Sport' banner...presumably to provide space for the Irish Examiner sponsorship message.. Some of the old graphics were still evident in January 2002.
	Tennis news.
	Racing Declarations index.
	Declarations text page.
	Racing results index.
	And a racing results page.
	Jobs at TV 3.
	Three For Teenz indexed on page 314 - get it? Showbiz and music news.
	Three For Teenz index.
	Three For Teenz gossip/showbiz news index,
	Three For Teenz showbiz news page.
	...and another.
	Movie previews - index.
	Movie preview page.
	An advert...
	...and another advert...
	...and maybe one more...
	...this is definitely the last one...
	Three Text's Dating service - Matchmaker. Is it me or does that graphic look very familiar? Early days of Teletext On 3?
	Sub-page from the Matchmaker index.
	Matchmaker text page.
	TV 3 Merchandise for sale.
	Competitions index.
	Competition page.
	Pet Shelter - pet care section.
	Pet Shelter page.
	Holidays at home and abroad. Travelfinders is an independent company who also provide travel offers on the RTÉ text service.
	Sample holiday offer page.
	Holidays in Ireland - sample page.
	Ad for the Holiday World Experience at the RDS in Dublin.
	Death Notices. This type of thing was carried briefly on Aertel c. 1996.
	Entertainment index.
	Gossip page.
	Theatre reviews index.
	Theatre reviews page.
	Cinema listings index.
	Cinema listings page.
	Rugby news index.
	Rugby news page, using the standard 'Sport' graphic.
	Another rugby page, this time using the banner from the main rugby index.
	Golf index.
	Golf news...
	Formula 1 index.
	Formula 1 news page.
	GAA index.
	GAA news page.
	Prize Bonds.
	Planit. All you'll ever need to know about TV 3.
	Various Planit information pages.

Teletext Chat

For discussion about all aspects of teletext, from content right through to complex technical matters.
If you have a question, this is the place to ask it...

The Teletext Museum is a collaboration with