The blocky, Lego-like television text service Teletext will disappear from New Zealand's screens next year.
The service, which began in 1984, will be ditched by TVNZ on April 2 with the broadcaster attributing its demise to the popularity of the internet.
Originally set up to help the deaf community get improved access to news and information, TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick says it now has few regular users and was prone to breakdowns.
"We just don't have the resources to maintain a fading service at the level of professionalism that we would want, particularly as most of the information is duplicated on our own or others' websites," he said.
Television captioning will not be affected and the broadcaster will work with interest groups to move people to other information sources, Mr Kenrick says.
The BBC closed down the world's first teletext service - Ceefax - in October after 38 years on air.
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