Radio Times Extra is a means of extending advertising into the medium of digital programme guides provided by Inview Technology. Radio Times Extra offers full programme listings and synopses forward 14 days, as well as editorialised programme selections, such as 'pick of the day'.
History
Radio Times Extra has been installed on certain Freeview box models through an ‘over-air download’, but some box makers are installing the service on new boxes that can be bought in the shops. Radio Times Extra has been installed on 3.8 million Freeview set-top boxes in the United Kingdom, from 21 different manufacturers, spanning 37 different receivers. The service was originally built by Teletext Ltd. in collaboration with InView Technology. In a deal between BBC Worldwide and InView Technology, Teletext Extra was relaunched as Radio Times Extra on 31 January 2011, with editorial content from the Radio Times.
Usage
Radio Times Extra provides users with an Electronic Programme Guide carrying 14 days of TV listings including programme information. You can access the EPG from any Freeview TV channel by going to your digital remote control and pressing the ‘TV Guide’ button, when using a Radio Times Extra-compatible Freeview receiver. A small window on the EPG continues to display video from the channel you were on. If you press the ‘Text’ button on your digital remote while viewing the EPG, you are taken to a digital teletext service, with information such as News, Sport, Racing, Travel, Weather, Entertainment and Holidays. Teletext Extra had more content than Teletext Ltd's digital services on ITV and Channel 4 and carried high-res images with top stories.
Criticism
The software has been installed on some set-top boxes, which did not originally include it, by over-the-air updates without the consent of the owners. Some set-top boxes allow the software to be disabled. However, the software disrupts the proper functioning of some older set-top boxes even when disabled. From the set-top box owners viewpoint therefore Radio Times Extra has similar characteristics to unwanted spam and computer viruses.
