Red Button services partially saved

The BBC has announced it will be saving key elements of its Red Button service.

BBC Director of Product, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds Dan Taylor-Watt said: “We have listened to your feedback and I’m pleased to let you know that we have found a way to keep the most valued text and data elements of the red button service.

“This means you will continue to be able to access local, national and international news headlines and stories, main sport headlines and stories, sport fixtures and results, as well as weather forecasts.

“To enable the continuation of the most valued text and data elements of the service, we are having to find ways to reduce cost and complexity elsewhere. This will mean we will be no longer be providing Lottery results (from November 2020) or English regional sport pages and individual sports’ headlines, besides football and those on the main sport pages (from mid-2021) via the red button. National sport indexes (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) will be retained - as will all sport fixtures and results. Due to cost implications, we will not be updating the news and sport element of the service throughout the night – however, this will be refreshed each morning and then throughout the day to ensure you are up-to-date.”

DR UK Head of Policy Fazilet Hadi said: “This is good news. The red button service is a lifeline for many disabled and older people. As part of the consortium of disability organisations which approached the BBC to ask them to deliver a stay of execution on the service, we are delighted they have listened and are retaining key elements of the service.”