Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The BBC slipped subtitle pages into spare lines of the broadcast signal from 1979. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a movies & tv fact?

Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Ceefax carried the first regular TV subtitles

The BBC slipped subtitle pages into spare lines of the broadcast signal from 1979 Ceefax, the BBC's teletext service, began carrying subtitled programmes for deaf viewers in 1979. The text travelled in unused lines at the top of each picture, out of sight unless a set had a decoder. Other broadcasters built similar services on the same idea. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

BFI

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: subtitles, teletext, accessibility

Ceefax carried the first regular TV subtitles: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The BBC slipped subtitle pages into spare lines of the broadcast signal from 1979. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.