Channel 4 is to close its Red Button and mobile TV divisions, with the potential loss of four jobs, and bringing an end to interactive advertising on the channel. The move comes almost ten years to the day that Red Button activities began on UK television.
Despite early successes, such as the 2002 campaign by the cosmetics manufacturer Rimmel, advertisers have been slow to pick up on the format.
This week, when Broadband TV News viewed the dedicated area for interactive ads on the Sky platform, we found just one (government-funded) current campaign.
Channel 4 will cease to serve interactive ads from December 31, 2008, although the facility remains on Sky-branded channels and ITV.
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