Rosy future predicted for Teletext in N.Z.

Press, 4 March 1987, Page 18

Rosy future predicted for Teletext in N.Z.

By

MARGARET BAKER

Teletext in New Zealand has a rosy future, says Television New Zealand’s teletext manager, Paul Chaplin, in the Christchurch head office.

“After a predictably slow start in 1984 we have grown into a very respectable service with a wide range of both general and special interest information,” he says.

Television New Zealand research figures show that the number of. teletext sets in New Zealand has increased from 5000 in 1984 to 45,000 in 1987. While still retaining a significant service for the disabled, teletext has moved into specialist service areas, such as racing, farming and the stockmarket.

“The rapid growth of teletext is tied to the introduction of these services,” says Chaplin. “We can provide more up-to-date information than any other section of the media, as we are not tied to rigid deadlines and we can update information frequently.”

Racing news comes direct from the T.A.B. computer and includes all the races around the country, while the stockmarket information is fed in from the New Zealand Stock Exchange in Wellington, which provides teletext with 10 reports each day. “We introduced' the

stockmarket to teletext in early January, and should have all the gremlins ironed out of the system by next month. Last year half the teletext sets sold were to people who were interested in racing, now the stockmarket followers are showing similar interest in buying sets.”

Other new services include a listing of upmarket motor vehicles for sale around the country, and the future could see top-line real estate and executive appointments listed.

Future plans also include adding wool and meat schedules to the farming schedule, and developing the finance area to carry information on exchange rates and the futures market. “Most of our users at the moment are in the middle to upper socioeconomic group, but we don’t want teletext to become exclusive to any one sector, so we are constantly reviewing and changing all our general interest and feature programmes.

“We are looking towards the day when people will automatically purchase a teletext set when they buy an ordinary television set.” Chaplin says a new television set with a teletext receiver built in usually costs about $3OO more than an ordinary set. A spokesman at Noel Leeming’s in Riccarton said a 22-inch Philips console colour television with

a teletext receiver cost $1925, while an ordinary set cost $1699. Many companies also fit teletext components to recent-model television sets. “I know of one particular operator in Christchurch who is doing about 20 conversions a week,” says Chaplin. Another option is to purchase a television set which is capable of having the teletext facility built in, or of functioning as a normal television. The owners can then decide at a later date to fit the teletext receiver.

“Virtually all recentmodel television sets are capable of conversion, but it is possible that converting older sets may prove costly,” Chaplin says. Compared to similar teletext operations around the world, he says New Zealand teletext is func-

tioning better than all others.

“We have the advantage of being co-ordinated and produced by one nation-wide organisation. In Australia the different channels have not worked together well and the service is not as successful.” Australian teletext began about seven years ago, and Chaplin says only about 35,000 sets have been sold. In the United Kingdom, the independent teletext service Oracle, and the 8.8. C. service Ceefax, have just become profitable after seven years operation. “Our service will be profitable in the next financial year, so I think we’re doing pretty well.”

The New Zealand operation has its head office in Christchurch, with commercial and input centres also based in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. News, sport and television information is fed in from Television New Zealand, while other information is provided by outside agencies and organisations. Eight staff members in Christchurch edit the information and compile all the feature, and many general interest, programmes. Chaplin believes Teletext should escape most cuts in television spending, as it generates its own revenue. “I think the future is looking rosy so long as we maintain the principle of delivering a good general interest base and homing in on special services.”