ORACLE (teletext)

Shown between 1983 and January 1997, 4-Tel on View was a magazine featuring previews of the day’s Channel 4’s programmes as well as back-up information and other features, such as the adventures of a dog called 4-T, from Channel 4's own "4-Tel" teletext service. The transmissions were especially notable from 1986 when animated graphics were introduced. Although the service was transmitted alongside Oracle on Channel 4, it was editorially and legally separate, and operated for Channel 4 by Intelfax Ltd.

From 1983 until the start of Channel 4's breakfast television service in April 1989, the 4-Tel magazine ran for 15 minutes and was repeated several times each day[4] with transmissions airing at increasingly earlier times of the day as Channel 4 expanded its broadcast hours. Following the start of breakfast television, however, 4-Tel on View was shown in a single block before the start of programmes.[5] After ORACLE lost its franchise on 31 December 1992, 4-Tel on View continued to be shown and from 1 January 1993 until Channel 4 started 24-hour broadcasting in January 1997 and 4-Tel on View was shown throughout Channel 4’s entire closedown period.[6][7]

Between 1983 and 1989, Channel 4 broadcast pages from the ORACLE service on air. Shown in 15 minute bursts, and alternating with 4-Tel on View and showings of the ETP-1 testcard, the pages were seen during the day when Channel 4 was not broadcasting actual programmes. Initially, the pages shown were from one aspect of the ORACLE service with the subject matter changing every so often.[4] In September 1987, Oracle on View became a news service, adopting this format at the same time that Channel 4 expanded its broadcast hours to accommodate the transfer of ITV Schools to Channel 4.[8] Oracle on View ended when Channel 4 started broadcasting breakfast television.

During the late 1980s and mid 1990s, many ITV companies broadcast job vacancies and related information during overnight periods and the service was provided by broadcasting the relevant ORACLE page in-vision. Central was the first company to do this, beginning in April 1986, with Yorkshire following in January 1987. By late 1988, all of ITV was broadcasting a 24-hour service and other companies - namely Anglia, Central, Granada, HTV and Tyne Tees - all introduced their own Jobfinder service at this point, broadcasting the pages between 4am and 5am, later 4:30am to 5:30am. By the mid-2000s, however, all of the Jobfinder services had ended, with Yorkshire being the last.

For a short period in 1987, prior to the start of 24-hour broadcasting on ITV, a selection of teletext pages were broadcast in-vision prior to the start of TV-am. These pages mostly consisted of news and information about TV-am.