Electra (teletext)
Encyclopedia
Electra was a teletext
service in the United States
that was in operation from the early 1980s up until 1993, when it was shut down due to a lack of funding, and discontinuation of teletext-capable television sets by the only US television manufacturer offering teletext capability at the time, Zenith. It was owned, operated and maintained by Cincinnati
-based Taft Broadcasting
Corporation and Tulsa, Oklahoma
-based Satellite Syndicated Systems
(SSS
), in cooperation with cable/satellite TV station Superstation WTBS (now TBS Superstation), who carried Electra's data on their VBI (WTBS was in turn owned by Turner Broadcasting System
, which would purchase the Hanna-Barbera
animation studio, and most shows from sister company Ruby-Spears, from Taft successor Great American Broadcasting in 1991; Turner is now part of Time Warner
).
Electra was America's answer to the British
Ceefax
or ORACLE
systems, providing news headlines, weather, entertainment/lifestyle info, and other information. Electra used the World System Teletext
(WST) protocol, the same protocol used by Ceefax and ORACLE, as well as by other teletext services in the rest of the Europe
an continent.
Electra was one of the very few American
teletext
services in operation. A few other services were offered by some large-market TV stations in the US throughout the 1980s, such as Metrotext from KTTV
in Los Angeles
and KeyFax from WFLD
in Chicago
.
Electra also carried another teletext service on its higher-numbered pages, a service called Tempo. Tempo mainly carried sports (and other miscellaneous) information on its pages.
At the time of Electra's closing in 1993, it was the only existing teletext service in the USA.
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
service in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that was in operation from the early 1980s up until 1993, when it was shut down due to a lack of funding, and discontinuation of teletext-capable television sets by the only US television manufacturer offering teletext capability at the time, Zenith. It was owned, operated and maintained by Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
-based Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
Corporation and Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
-based Satellite Syndicated Systems
Satellite Syndicated Systems
Satellite Syndicated Systems was a company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1980s that provided distribution services of data for American teletext and other data services via communications satellite. They provided data distribution for the Electra teletext service which was carried on the VBI of...
(SSS
Satellite Syndicated Systems
Satellite Syndicated Systems was a company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1980s that provided distribution services of data for American teletext and other data services via communications satellite. They provided data distribution for the Electra teletext service which was carried on the VBI of...
), in cooperation with cable/satellite TV station Superstation WTBS (now TBS Superstation), who carried Electra's data on their VBI (WTBS was in turn owned by Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
, which would purchase the Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
animation studio, and most shows from sister company Ruby-Spears, from Taft successor Great American Broadcasting in 1991; Turner is now part of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
).
Electra was America's answer to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ceefax
Ceefax
Ceefax is the BBC's teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, started in 1974 and will run until April 2012 for Pages from Ceefax, while the actual interactive service will run until 24 October 2012, in-line with the digital switchover.-History:During the late 60s, engineer...
or ORACLE
ORACLE (teletext)
ORACLE was a commercial teletext service first broadcast on ITV in 1974 and later on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, finally ending on both channels at 23:59 GMT on 31 December 1992....
systems, providing news headlines, weather, entertainment/lifestyle info, and other information. Electra used the World System Teletext
World System Teletext
World System Teletext is the name of a standard for encoding and displaying teletext information, which is used as the standard for teletext throughout Europe today....
(WST) protocol, the same protocol used by Ceefax and ORACLE, as well as by other teletext services in the rest of the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an continent.
Electra was one of the very few American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
services in operation. A few other services were offered by some large-market TV stations in the US throughout the 1980s, such as Metrotext from KTTV
KTTV
KTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and KeyFax from WFLD
WFLD
WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Electra also carried another teletext service on its higher-numbered pages, a service called Tempo. Tempo mainly carried sports (and other miscellaneous) information on its pages.
At the time of Electra's closing in 1993, it was the only existing teletext service in the USA.