Teletext, ITV and sloppy reporting

Following on from its agreement with Channel 4, Teletext has signed a deal with ITV to make a version of its digital text service available on the text button on Freeview and satellite - essentially restoring what we have had on analogue for years.

For ITV it probably means a couple of extra pounds in their pocket, for Teletext it's part of surviving the digital age.

Not a hugely interesting story, so let's make a dig at the Guardian's legendary respect for accuracy instead.

In Teletext to go digital with ITV for example they tell us that the new service

will also be available through the recently launched ITV Active service.

Well we won't niggle on the fact that pressing red on Freeview does absolutely nothing at all on ITV, but we will point out that ITV Active was the replacement name for OnNet - the ISP from OnDigital which gave the consumer a little box so that they could surf the internet from their TV. As a name it's been defunct since 2002 when ITV Digital collapsed, although the service itself was taken over and is still in operation.

Sorry Guardian but the service you meant was not one that sounds like a dodgy chain of gyms, but instead ITVi - an operation who didn't seem to realise that their logo looked suspiciously similar logo to their rivals, BBCi.

Talking of BBCi comes mistake number two - this time in

ITV brings Teletext to digital service where the Guardian tells us:

The BBC introduced their BBCi services to digital users in June 2003 to update its analogue-only Ceefax services, and recently made them quicker and easier to use.

Which is quite impressive as I've been using (what is now called) BBCi since January 2000 and the service actually launched in 1999.

It's not even as if the BBCi name was introduced in June 2003 - the service was renamed in November 2001.

What actually happened in June 2003 was that the existing service relaunched with a different look.

Still, why let facts get in the way of a mildly interesting news story.