ITVi to launch in August

Digital Spy reports that ITV are launching a new 24-hour interactive service in August, ITVi.

The launch of the service will co-incide with the new series of Pop Idol, which will allow voting via interactive TV.

Will this service be making an appearance on Freeview? I hope so, although the voting won't work...

ITVi? Now where did they think of that name...

They should have called the service "ITV Active" - makes much more sense and sounds better too.

I doubt too many people would confuse the name with their old internet service either.

Or they could have been really clever and just called it iTV

Oh, I seem to have managed to miss this bit of breaking news.

So is this new service coming from Carlnada or Teletext Ltd, as only the latter have a transmission licence for data from the ITC, as I understand it?

I think it's from Carlton, don't they have a unit that deals with interactive stuff, I think it's them!

I suppose if it's VERY, VERY programme related, and nothing more, they might get away with it.

Otherwise they'll have to go to the ITC for a separate licence.

Did they actually decide to call the new merged company Carlnada? Silly if they did LOL.

No.

That's just me saving a few keystrokes from my poor typing fingers!

The DigitalSpy article says that it'll just be an interactive service for Pop Idol, it doesn't mention anywhere about any other content, and also only throws in the 'ITVi' name once

Ah!

Sounds like it'll just be Pop Idol, like it's previously just been Millionaire, then.

ONLY programme related, so okay under the current terms.

I take it "ITVi" is just an exaggeration that's crept in at some point along the story's travel.

What they REALLY mean is "Pop Idoli".