BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is the more public of two entities that resulted from the 2004 splitting of BBCi into a an digital television service known as BBCi Red Button , and a web content provider known as BBC Online . While Online formed directly from the 2004 split , the brand " BBC Red Button " dates only to 2008 . BBC Red Button is standard on all digital televisions in the United Kingdom . It seeks to offer more non - linear content to enhance the viewing of particular programming on standard , linear television . Because its history is so intertwined with those of BBCi and BBC Online , this article will consider all three entities . Overview . The name " Red Button " derives from the fact that viewers access it by pushing an actual red button on the remote control . This drops a menu in a box over the programme being watched , allowing a viewer to pick from a variety of different " channels " . Some of these channels are text - based and generally remain displayed over the main programme being watched . Some are video based and can be optionally viewed as a picture - in - picture display , or simply chosen as a regular , full - screen channel would be . Relationship to " Doctor Who " . Historically , Red Button and BBCi have generated the most content for sports , news , business and other non - fiction programming . However , the BBC have occasionally used both the broadband and interactive television capabilities of Red Button to add to their viewers ' enjoyment of " Doctor Who " . BBCi programming . Because the BBCi was the combination of what is today the separate entities of the Red Button and BBC Online , it is difficult to know if some of the things that BBCi broadcast online would have been made available on digital television today . Regardless , their early forays into commissioning new fiction for their web services are the earliest efforts of the BBC to provide additional narratives outside regular television episodes , and shaped the futures of both Red Button and Online . Their first webcast was an experiment . " Death Comes to Time " was originally commissioned as a pilot for BBC Radio 4 in 2001 . Radio 4 declined to pursue the series , so BBCi picked it up . They converted it to an animated story in 2002 . In December of 2002 , they followed with the first project actually " conceived " as a webcast : " Real Time " . In 2003 they returned to converting audio projects to video . " Shada " was a step up in terms of animation , but it took already - existing audio and married it to newly commissioned artwork . " Scream of the Shalka " came towards the end of 2003 . It was a " test case " for the digital broadcast platform , created by the BBCi to a standard that could have been broadcast via the Red Button of the day . In the end , it received only a web debut . Around the same time , BBCi started to generate content for what became the iPlayer . They envisaged offering whole episodes of " Doctor Who " to their web users . They commissioned animated versions of the missing episodes of " The Invasion " to offer the whole serial for the first time since its original broadcast . This newly - complete " Invasion " would instantly drive " Doctor Who " fans to their new player . This would differ from the way they had earlier made video available . People would not have to navigate to the " Doctor Who " subsite , and access a fixed video display dedicated to showing one particular video . Their new player would offer multiple video feeds from anywhere on the BBC site . In the end they chose not to offer any " Doctor Who " episodes and the reborn " Invasion " instead went straight to DVD . BBCi Red Button programming . In 2004 , BBCi divested itself of its online responsibilities , spinning off BBC Online as a separate division . It also rebranded itself as " BBCi Red Button " , and focused on digital television programming The BBC Wales " Doctor Who " made use of the platform , offering original programming during the Christmas season . " Attack of the Graske " was the first major piece of " Doctor Who " to debut on Red Button . Its 4 : 3 aspect ratio reveals the age of the piece ; Red Button adopted a widescreen ratio after its parent networks did . In 2007 , a Cardiff concert of music from " Doctor Who " was exclusively premiered on Red Button . BBC Red Button programming . In 2008 , another rebranding followed , and all reference to " BBCi " was dropped . The process was leisurely , and references to " BBCi " can , as of 1 April 2010 , still be seen on the BBC Website . Under the " BBC Red Button " brand came 2009 ' s " Dreamland " , originally broadcast in its entirety on the service . The BBC Red Button has also been used as a marketing tool to broadcast clips from upcoming episodes . On 24 March 2010 they showed the first scene from " The Eleventh Hour " . BBC Online programming . BBC Online split from BBCi in 2004 . The most obvious impact BBCi ' s " other " successor has made on " Doctor Who " has been to maintain the official websites of " Doctor Who " , " The Sarah Jane Adventures " and " Torchwood " . As a result they have become major producers of video content . The difference between the video contributions of BBC Online and BBCi has been extreme . Indeed , Online have gone well beyond simple video to offer their users truly interactive experiences . The first major piece of original BBC Online programming was the documentary " The Doctor Who Years " , a 2005 web documentary that gave viewers a history of the classic series in the run - up to " Rose " . The documentary attracted hundreds of thousands of hits , and demonstrated there was a market for original , web - based video . Online has been continually feeding their websites purpose - built video since that humble beginning . Tardisode s , Advent Calendar s , video diaries , " Captain Jack ' s Monster Files " , and the " Doctor Who Video Explorer " series are a few of the original productions commissioned by BBC Online to enhance viewers ' enjoyment of " Doctor Who " . Unlike BBCi ' s efforts , no significant animation has debuted on BBC Online sites . Instead , live action video — most of it documentary — has been supplemented by much interactive materials In addition to videos , BBC Online have provided Flash animation games , trailer makers , comic makers and sound samples .