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2007 British premium-rate phone-in scandal

January 01, 1970

The 2007 British premium-rate phone-in scandal, sometimes referred to in the press as simply the phone-in scandal relates to a series of controversies regarding the use of premium-rate telephone numbers (or PRS) by several British television and radio broadcasters. The first revelations began in February 2007 regarding the Channel 4 television programme Richard & Judy. However, over the following weeks, more allegations emerged regarding misconduct by major British broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The programmes affected included phone-in competitions and public votes conducted over several years, dating back to 2001. As a result, adjudicators Ofcom and ICSTIS (now known as Phone-paid Services Authority) conducted several investigations, resulting in millions of pounds worth of fines and a reform in the use of PRS by broadcasters.

Background edit

Pre-2007 edit

There had been some investigations into the use of PRS in television programmes in the years leading up to 2007. In 2005, Ofcom found two broadcasters to be in breach of their licensing conditions for failure to maintain recordings of quiz programmes following complaints about their handling of competitions.[1] In October 2006, ICSTIS received 2,635 complaints regarding the seventh series of Channel 4's reality television show Big Brother, after a contestant that had been voted off the show by paying viewers was then allowed back onto the programme, resulting in fines of almost £50,000 for the phone service providers.[2] Between late 2006 and early 2007, Ofcom recorded breaches against broadcasters regarding the fairness of television quiz shows and competitions, including TWC,[3] Channel 4,[4][5] ITV[6][7] and Channel 5.[5] In January 2007, Gamecast UK was issued a fine of £100,000 for its broadcast of pre-recorded competitions inviting viewers to call a premium rate number when they had no chance of winning, in addition to other serious code breaches regarding the broadcast of pornographic material and other unauthorised broadcasts.[8] Gamecast's licence was ultimately revoked in April 2007 after failing to pay the fine.[9]

February 2007 edit

On 18 February 2007, the Mail on Sunday reported that it had received leaked emails regarding the television programme Richard & Judy, which was broadcast nightly. In each programme, a competition named You Say We Pay ran, in which viewers were invited to call a premium-rate phone number for the chance of being randomly selected to play a game with the presenters. On 14 February 2007 at 5:09 pm, nine minutes into the programme, Eckoh (the telephone service provider) emailed Cactus TV (the production company) a list of 24 potential winners, from which one winner would be chosen. However, ten minutes later, a second message was broadcast inviting viewers to continue to call in, even though nobody calling after Eckoh's email was sent had any chance of being entered.[10] The report also clarified that it had no evidence that the show's presenters, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, had any knowledge of the issues.[10] On 22 February, following Channel 4's admittance that several series of the programme could have been affected and a claim from a contestant that the problems existed in 2002, ICSTIS announced their intention to conduct an inquiry into the programme.[11] On 28 February, Eckoh pulled out of its contract with Cactus TV.

Following the allegations regarding Richard & Judy, ICSTIS began to investigate the BBC's cookery show Saturday Kitchen - also produced by Cactus TV - after it was alleged that nine editions of the programme had invited viewers to call a PRS - also provided by Eckoh - even though the broadcasts were pre-recorded and viewers' calls had no chance of being put through.[12]

On 28 February, it was also reported that ITV had admitted to overcharging viewers via its "red button" voting service during the third series of The X Factor - resulting in £200,000 in extra charges to viewers - and had reported their findings to ICSTIS.[13]

March 2007 edit

On 1 March, ICSTIS chairman Sir Alistair Graham invited senior executives of the UK's leading broadcasters to a meeting to discuss the emerging allegations, stating: "My concern is that these problems are resulting in a loss of viewer trust in participation TV and in the premium-rate payment mechanism."[14] On 6 March, ITV suspended all premium-rate telephone services,[15] though certain services resumed on 13 March.[16] Though the BBC and Channel 5 initially stated that they had no plans to suspend PRS,[17] Channel 5 did so on 8 March, reporting that on five separate occasions, after their programme BrainTeaser had failed to find a winning contestant to their competitions, broadcast fictitious names as "winners", including one incident where a member of the production team posed as a "winner".[18] Channel 4 suspended PRS following revelations of a "glitch" preventing callers from being entered into a competition on the racing programme The Morning Line.[19]

The first radio stations were named in the controversy on 12 March, after Virgin Radio admitted to inviting viewers to call a pre-recorded programme, and LBC being investigated for allegedly not revealing the price of phone calls to listeners.[20]

On 13 March, Eckoh announced that they were referring the scandal to the police, following allegations that it mishandled votes relating to the sixth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.[21]

The BBC revealed that two of its children's programmes were affected: Blue Peter had faked a competition winner after a technical fault prevented callers from getting through; and pre-recorded repeats of Smile had invited viewers to call in when they had no chance of getting through.[22]

Other ITV programmes that were named as being investigated included Soapstar Superstar, Dancing On Ice, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.[23][24]

In March 2007, ITV appointed Deloitte to conduct a "comprehensive review" into the broadcaster's use of PRS in its programming.[25]

April 2007 edit

On 23 April, BBC's Panorama broadcast a show which investigated the use of PRS in multiple programmes, including GMTV and its competitions, which Opera Telecom provided.[26] [27]

September 2007 edit

The Observer revealed that a crisis meeting had taken place on 26 September by the heads of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Mark Thompson, Michael Grade, Andy Duncan and Jane Lighting were all in attendance to discuss their attempt to "restore public trust in broadcasting".

October 2007 edit

The results of the Deloitte review were published in a report on 18 October. Described as "the most comprehensive review carried out into the use of PRS by any UK broadcaster", the report identified "serious or concerning issues in a limited number of ITV programmes".[25] The report stated, regarding the various issues:

ITV has taken specialist legal advice in respect of each of the specific issues set out in this document and is advised that the evidence does not support any allegation of criminal behaviour. ITV has identified and will take appropriate action in relation to each aspect of the findings of the review.[25]

Investigation edit

Ofcom revealed that they had 23 open investigations against broadcasters, while ICSTIS had a further 15.[22] On 22 March, Ofcom announced its intention to investigate the use of PRS on television, with an inquiry led by Richard Ayre.[28] In a statement, Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards said:

"Widespread concern about the use of premium rate telephone lines by broadcasters and editorial standards in those programmes has raised serious questions about trust between broadcasters and viewers. Ofcom has been monitoring the issue closely and has launched a number of individual investigations since the start of the year. However it is clear from the number of cases underway that a broader set of issues need to be examined as a matter of priority. This inquiry will seek to establish the root cause of the compliance issues which have emerged over recent weeks, and inform key decisions about protecting consumers."[28]

Though it was reported in October 2007 that the Serious Fraud Office would be investigating the scandal,[29] they later announced that the cases did not "meet the SFO criterion for acceptance for investigation".[30]

Between June 2007 and October 2009, Ofcom published the findings of their investigations into breaches of its Broadcasting Code about the use of PRS. This resulted in over £11 million of fines and statutory sanctions on networks.

In September 2007, ICSTIS found service provider Opera Telecom to be in breach of its code regarding its provision of competitions for GMTV.[26]

Methods used and errors made edit

Over several years, broadcasters, service providers, and programme producers breached Ofcom's Broadcasting Code in various ways. Some were foreseeable errors, and others were deliberate interventions to alter results.

Fake competition winners edit

One of the most prolific methods used by programmes during this period was using fake winners in competitions. Between 25 July 2005 and 17 March 2007, ten different programmes announced fictitious names and winners of their contests. This included eight BBC programmes,[31] Channel 5's BrainTeaser,[32] and GCap's Secret Sound, which was broadcast on 30 different radio stations.[33] Some of the entries to the competition were fabricated by the production team, and, in a few instances, members of the production staff appeared on the programme posing as winners.[34][35][36] On one occasion, during the broadcast of Blue Peter, a child visiting the studio was asked by a researcher to pretend to be a competition winner, which they did. This resulted in an additional recorded breach against the BBC for failing to protect the welfare of children.[37]

Early finalising and overriding of public votes edit

The 2004 and 2005 British Comedy Awards both featured two pre-recorded half-hour segments inviting viewers to vote for the recipient of the People's Choice Award. In real-time, the award had already been presented on both occasions, but viewers were still asked to vote.[38]: 1.4(i) : 1.4(ii)  During the 2005 awards, a decision was taken to override the public vote for the People's Choice Award. Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway was named the winner, whereas the show with the highest number of votes was actually The Catherine Tate Show.[38]: 1.4(iii)  The reason for the switch has never been identified, though Ofcom investigated two theories. The first theory was that Robbie Williams, who presented the award, would appear on the programme only if he could present it to Ant and Dec;[38]: 4.9  the second theory was that employees of ITV instructed the switch (Takeaway was an ITV show, whereas Catherine Tate was broadcast on BBC One).[38]: 4.10  Ofcom expressed its "[disappointment] at the lack of cooperation it received" from members of the production.[38]: 4.11 

Similar breaches were also recorded against the programme Soapstar Superstar. On 5 January 2007, senior producers finalised the vote two minutes before the lines had closed, while presenter Zoe Ball continued to invite viewers to vote.[39] After the vote closed, the last (11th) placed contestant in the vote was eliminated. However, instead of the 9th and 10th placed contestants being put forward to the overnight vote to evict, the actual results were disregarded. The 7th and 8th placed contestants were put forward for the vote instead.[39] Another aspect of voting for the show involved the public voting for which song they would like the contestants to sing. On at least eight occasions, the production team overrode the vote and decided for themselves which songs the contestants would sing.[39] ITV acknowledged that junior members of staff who objected to these actions were "firmly sat upon" by senior producers.[39]: 1.12  Ofcom opined that the programme-makers "showed their total contempt for ITV1’s audience"[39]: 1.20  in manipulating the votes in this way, and described their behaviour as "absolutely reprehensible".[39]: 1.20 

Ofcom also recorded a breach against ITV relating to the programme I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! after it emerged that, on 30 November 2006, voting had closed three and a half minutes early, meaning that over 20,000 votes cast during this period were not counted. On this occasion, however, no statutory sanction was imposed.[40]

Unfair selection of competition finalists edit

Ofcom described in their reports several unfair methods used to select competition winners in particular programmes, overriding the "random" selection requirements. These included:

  • Early selection - where competition finalists were being selected before the lines had closed, resulting in later callers having no chance of being selected[41][42][43]
  • Staggered selection - where several shortlists of competition finalists were produced before the lines had closed, resulting in later callers having a lower statistical chance of being selected[41][42][43][44]
  • Geographical selection - entrants being unaware that the competition was not being conducted in their area, meaning they stood no chance of winning[42]
  • Editorial selection - where winners were chosen based on their "suitability to be on screen",[42][45] or where staff deliberately selected entrants who had guessed the answer incorrectly, to prolong the competition[33]
  • Denying prizes to genuine winners - in the case of The Clare McDonnell Show, some entrants who had guessed the correct answer were refused the prize, as they had already won previous competitions on BBC 6 Music[46]

Inclusion of competitions in pre-recorded programmes edit

On several occasions, Ofcom sanctioned broadcasters for broadcasting competitions and other services "as live", whereas the programmes were pre-recorded, and anyone who called to use the services offered had no chance of doing so. These included five editions of Tony Blackburn,[47] eight editions of Dermot O'Leary[48] and 31 different broadcasts on ITV2's timeshift service, ITV2+1, broadcast an hour later.[49] Though a breach was recorded against ITV regarding a similar incident during a repeat of People's Court, no sanction was issued.[40]

The BBC were sanctioned for repeating a falsified competition from Blue Peter (see above) on CBBC.[37]

Non-inclusion of SMS entrants edit

In the case of Gameshow Marathon, ITV was sanctioned for its"lack of clarity" regarding whether people entering competitions via SMS had been included.[45]

Flawed logic competitions edit

In two of ITV2's competitions - The Mint and Glitterball - incorrect answers had been announced as correct. In The Mint, the answer to a wordsearch-style game was announced as "TUNA", despite the grid not containing the letter U. In a Glitterball word-making game, the answer "HATCH" had been derived from the word "ENCHANTED", despite rules stating that letters could only be used once, and only one letter H was available. Though Ofcom recorded breaches, no sanctions were issued.[40]

List of breaches recorded by Ofcom edit

Below is a table containing a list of breaches and, where relevant, sanctions imposed by Ofcom, including the broadcaster's name and the programme it related to.

Broadcaster Affected programme Sanction (fine) Date of finding Source
Channel 5 Brainteaser £300,000 26 June 2007 [32]
BBC One, CBBC Blue Peter £50,000 9 July 2007 [37]
GMTV GMTV £2,000,000 26 September 2007 [43]
Channel 4 Deal or No Deal £500,000 20 December 2007 [44]
Channel 4 Richard & Judy £1,000,000 20 December 2007 [41]
Granada Soapstar Superstar £1,200,000 8 May 2008 [39]
ITV2 Playalong, The Mint, Make Your Play and Glitterball £275,000 8 May 2008 [49]
LWT Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway £3,000,000 8 May 2008 [42]
LWT Gameshow Marathon £1,200,000 8 May 2008 [45]
LWT I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! None 8 May 2008 [40]
ITV People's Court None 8 May 2008 [40]
ITV2 Playalong, The Mint and Glitterball None 8 May 2008 [40]
GCap Media One Network £1,110,000 27 June 2008 [33]
BBC 6 Music Russell Brand £17,500 30 July 2008 [50]
BBC One Children In Need 2005 £35,000 30 July 2008 [51]
BBC One Comic Relief 2007 £45,000 30 July 2008 [52]
BBC 6 Music The Liz Kershaw Show £115,000 30 July 2008 [36]
BBC Two, CBBC TMi £50,000 30 July 2008 [34]
BBC 6 Music The Clare McDonnell Show £17,500 30 July 2008 [46]
BBC One Sport Relief 2006 £45,000 30 July 2008 [35]
BBC Radio 1 The Jo Whiley Show £75,000 30 July 2008 [53]
BBC London 94.9FM Tony Blackburn £25,000 8 December 2008 [47]
BBC Radio 2 Dermot O'Leary £70,000 8 December 2008 [48]
Channel TV British Comedy Awards 2004, British Comedy Awards 2005 £80,000 2 October 2009 [38]

Aftermath edit

Presenters edit

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, presenters of the first identified problematic programme, apologised to their viewers on their programme while denying any knowledge of wrongdoing on their programme. Finnigan stated: "Richard and I knew nothing about this until late on Friday afternoon - we were very shocked and also angry on your behalf. We're very sorry."[54]

After the Deloitte report was published in October 2007, Ant and Dec, who presented two of the affected programmes, expressed "disappointment" at the findings of the investigations, making it clear that they had "no idea" that compliance failures were occurring.[55] This was seconded by director of ITV Michael Grade, describing the pair's credits as executive producers as "kind of a vanity credit".[56] Ant and Dec confirmed in a statement that any profits from the next series of Saturday Night Takeaway would be donated to charity.[57] Later, in May 2008, they stated that they would be returning their wrongfully awarded British Comedy Award from 2005.[58] Catherine Tate, whose comedy sketch show was the rightful winner, explained on an episode of The Graham Norton Show that she had finally received her award, and joked about confronting Declan Donnelly in a supermarket.[59]

Ofcom edit

As a result of the scandal and the subsequent investigations and sanctions that followed, Ofcom announced its intention to raise the maximum fine that they could impose on ITV and its regional networks, stating that the current guidelines did not "provide sufficient incentives for the licensees to maintain broadcasting standards for the protection of members of the public from the inclusion of offensive and harmful material".[60]

Further incidents edit

In December 2020, Ofcom found ITV to be in breach of the Broadcasting Code and their competition licensing conditions. ITV made Ofcom aware that, following mandatory third-party verification of its competitions, 40,000 postal entries into six competitions between 2016 and 2019 had failed to be included. Postal entries are free to enter (excluding delivery costs). Ofcom opined that: "ITV failed to properly implement and execute procedures that are fundamental to ensuring compliance with rules regarding the operation of its broadcast competitions and the relevant licence conditions." On this occasion, no sanction was imposed.[61]

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January 01, 1970
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The 2007 British premium rate phone in scandal sometimes referred to in the press as simply the phone in scandal relates to a series of controversies regarding the use of premium rate telephone numbers or PRS by several British television and radio broadcasters The first revelations began in February 2007 regarding the Channel 4 television programme Richard amp Judy However over the following weeks more allegations emerged regarding misconduct by major British broadcasters including the BBC ITV Channel 4 and Channel 5 The programmes affected included phone in competitions and public votes conducted over several years dating back to 2001 As a result adjudicators Ofcom and ICSTIS now known as Phone paid Services Authority conducted several investigations resulting in millions of pounds worth of fines and a reform in the use of PRS by broadcasters Contents 1 Background 1 1 Pre 2007 1 2 February 2007 1 3 March 2007 1 4 April 2007 1 5 September 2007 1 6 October 2007 2 Investigation 2 1 Methods used and errors made 2 1 1 Fake competition winners 2 1 2 Early finalising and overriding of public votes 2 1 3 Unfair selection of competition finalists 2 1 4 Inclusion of competitions in pre recorded programmes 2 1 5 Non inclusion of SMS entrants 2 1 6 Flawed logic competitions 2 2 List of breaches recorded by Ofcom 3 Aftermath 3 1 Presenters 3 2 Ofcom 3 3 Further incidents 4 ReferencesBackground editPre 2007 edit There had been some investigations into the use of PRS in television programmes in the years leading up to 2007 In 2005 Ofcom found two broadcasters to be in breach of their licensing conditions for failure to maintain recordings of quiz programmes following complaints about their handling of competitions 1 In October 2006 ICSTIS received 2 635 complaints regarding the seventh series of Channel 4 s reality television show Big Brother after a contestant that had been voted off the show by paying viewers was then allowed back onto the programme resulting in fines of almost 50 000 for the phone service providers 2 Between late 2006 and early 2007 Ofcom recorded breaches against broadcasters regarding the fairness of television quiz shows and competitions including TWC 3 Channel 4 4 5 ITV 6 7 and Channel 5 5 In January 2007 Gamecast UK was issued a fine of 100 000 for its broadcast of pre recorded competitions inviting viewers to call a premium rate number when they had no chance of winning in addition to other serious code breaches regarding the broadcast of pornographic material and other unauthorised broadcasts 8 Gamecast s licence was ultimately revoked in April 2007 after failing to pay the fine 9 February 2007 edit On 18 February 2007 the Mail on Sunday reported that it had received leaked emails regarding the television programme Richard amp Judy which was broadcast nightly In each programme a competition named You Say We Pay ran in which viewers were invited to call a premium rate phone number for the chance of being randomly selected to play a game with the presenters On 14 February 2007 at 5 09 pm nine minutes into the programme Eckoh the telephone service provider emailed Cactus TV the production company a list of 24 potential winners from which one winner would be chosen However ten minutes later a second message was broadcast inviting viewers to continue to call in even though nobody calling after Eckoh s email was sent had any chance of being entered 10 The report also clarified that it had no evidence that the show s presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan had any knowledge of the issues 10 On 22 February following Channel 4 s admittance that several series of the programme could have been affected and a claim from a contestant that the problems existed in 2002 ICSTIS announced their intention to conduct an inquiry into the programme 11 On 28 February Eckoh pulled out of its contract with Cactus TV Following the allegations regarding Richard amp Judy ICSTIS began to investigate the BBC s cookery show Saturday Kitchen also produced by Cactus TV after it was alleged that nine editions of the programme had invited viewers to call a PRS also provided by Eckoh even though the broadcasts were pre recorded and viewers calls had no chance of being put through 12 On 28 February it was also reported that ITV had admitted to overcharging viewers via its red button voting service during the third series of The X Factor resulting in 200 000 in extra charges to viewers and had reported their findings to ICSTIS 13 March 2007 edit On 1 March ICSTIS chairman Sir Alistair Graham invited senior executives of the UK s leading broadcasters to a meeting to discuss the emerging allegations stating My concern is that these problems are resulting in a loss of viewer trust in participation TV and in the premium rate payment mechanism 14 On 6 March ITV suspended all premium rate telephone services 15 though certain services resumed on 13 March 16 Though the BBC and Channel 5 initially stated that they had no plans to suspend PRS 17 Channel 5 did so on 8 March reporting that on five separate occasions after their programme BrainTeaser had failed to find a winning contestant to their competitions broadcast fictitious names as winners including one incident where a member of the production team posed as a winner 18 Channel 4 suspended PRS following revelations of a glitch preventing callers from being entered into a competition on the racing programme The Morning Line 19 The first radio stations were named in the controversy on 12 March after Virgin Radio admitted to inviting viewers to call a pre recorded programme and LBC being investigated for allegedly not revealing the price of phone calls to listeners 20 On 13 March Eckoh announced that they were referring the scandal to the police following allegations that it mishandled votes relating to the sixth series of I m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here 21 The BBC revealed that two of its children s programmes were affected Blue Peter had faked a competition winner after a technical fault prevented callers from getting through and pre recorded repeats of Smile had invited viewers to call in when they had no chance of getting through 22 Other ITV programmes that were named as being investigated included Soapstar Superstar Dancing On Ice Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Gameshow Marathon and Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway 23 24 In March 2007 ITV appointed Deloitte to conduct a comprehensive review into the broadcaster s use of PRS in its programming 25 April 2007 edit On 23 April BBC s Panorama broadcast a show which investigated the use of PRS in multiple programmes including GMTV and its competitions which Opera Telecom provided 26 27 September 2007 edit The Observer revealed that a crisis meeting had taken place on 26 September by the heads of the BBC ITV Channel 4 and Channel 5 Mark Thompson Michael Grade Andy Duncan and Jane Lighting were all in attendance to discuss their attempt to restore public trust in broadcasting October 2007 editThe results of the Deloitte review were published in a report on 18 October Described as the most comprehensive review carried out into the use of PRS by any UK broadcaster the report identified serious or concerning issues in a limited number of ITV programmes 25 The report stated regarding the various issues ITV has taken specialist legal advice in respect of each of the specific issues set out in this document and is advised that the evidence does not support any allegation of criminal behaviour ITV has identified and will take appropriate action in relation to each aspect of the findings of the review 25 Investigation editOfcom revealed that they had 23 open investigations against broadcasters while ICSTIS had a further 15 22 On 22 March Ofcom announced its intention to investigate the use of PRS on television with an inquiry led by Richard Ayre 28 In a statement Ofcom s chief executive Ed Richards said Widespread concern about the use of premium rate telephone lines by broadcasters and editorial standards in those programmes has raised serious questions about trust between broadcasters and viewers Ofcom has been monitoring the issue closely and has launched a number of individual investigations since the start of the year However it is clear from the number of cases underway that a broader set of issues need to be examined as a matter of priority This inquiry will seek to establish the root cause of the compliance issues which have emerged over recent weeks and inform key decisions about protecting consumers 28 Though it was reported in October 2007 that the Serious Fraud Office would be investigating the scandal 29 they later announced that the cases did not meet the SFO criterion for acceptance for investigation 30 Between June 2007 and October 2009 Ofcom published the findings of their investigations into breaches of its Broadcasting Code about the use of PRS This resulted in over 11 million of fines and statutory sanctions on networks In September 2007 ICSTIS found service provider Opera Telecom to be in breach of its code regarding its provision of competitions for GMTV 26 Methods used and errors made edit Over several years broadcasters service providers and programme producers breached Ofcom s Broadcasting Code in various ways Some were foreseeable errors and others were deliberate interventions to alter results Fake competition winners edit One of the most prolific methods used by programmes during this period was using fake winners in competitions Between 25 July 2005 and 17 March 2007 ten different programmes announced fictitious names and winners of their contests This included eight BBC programmes 31 Channel 5 s BrainTeaser 32 and GCap s Secret Sound which was broadcast on 30 different radio stations 33 Some of the entries to the competition were fabricated by the production team and in a few instances members of the production staff appeared on the programme posing as winners 34 35 36 On one occasion during the broadcast of Blue Peter a child visiting the studio was asked by a researcher to pretend to be a competition winner which they did This resulted in an additional recorded breach against the BBC for failing to protect the welfare of children 37 Early finalising and overriding of public votes edit The 2004 and 2005 British Comedy Awards both featured two pre recorded half hour segments inviting viewers to vote for the recipient of the People s Choice Award In real time the award had already been presented on both occasions but viewers were still asked to vote 38 1 4 i 1 4 ii During the 2005 awards a decision was taken to override the public vote for the People s Choice Award Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway was named the winner whereas the show with the highest number of votes was actually The Catherine Tate Show 38 1 4 iii The reason for the switch has never been identified though Ofcom investigated two theories The first theory was that Robbie Williams who presented the award would appear on the programme only if he could present it to Ant and Dec 38 4 9 the second theory was that employees of ITV instructed the switch Takeaway was an ITV show whereas Catherine Tate was broadcast on BBC One 38 4 10 Ofcom expressed its disappointment at the lack of cooperation it received from members of the production 38 4 11 Similar breaches were also recorded against the programme Soapstar Superstar On 5 January 2007 senior producers finalised the vote two minutes before the lines had closed while presenter Zoe Ball continued to invite viewers to vote 39 After the vote closed the last 11th placed contestant in the vote was eliminated However instead of the 9th and 10th placed contestants being put forward to the overnight vote to evict the actual results were disregarded The 7th and 8th placed contestants were put forward for the vote instead 39 Another aspect of voting for the show involved the public voting for which song they would like the contestants to sing On at least eight occasions the production team overrode the vote and decided for themselves which songs the contestants would sing 39 ITV acknowledged that junior members of staff who objected to these actions were firmly sat upon by senior producers 39 1 12 Ofcom opined that the programme makers showed their total contempt for ITV1 s audience 39 1 20 in manipulating the votes in this way and described their behaviour as absolutely reprehensible 39 1 20 Ofcom also recorded a breach against ITV relating to the programme I m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here after it emerged that on 30 November 2006 voting had closed three and a half minutes early meaning that over 20 000 votes cast during this period were not counted On this occasion however no statutory sanction was imposed 40 Unfair selection of competition finalists edit Ofcom described in their reports several unfair methods used to select competition winners in particular programmes overriding the random selection requirements These included Early selection where competition finalists were being selected before the lines had closed resulting in later callers having no chance of being selected 41 42 43 Staggered selection where several shortlists of competition finalists were produced before the lines had closed resulting in later callers having a lower statistical chance of being selected 41 42 43 44 Geographical selection entrants being unaware that the competition was not being conducted in their area meaning they stood no chance of winning 42 Editorial selection where winners were chosen based on their suitability to be on screen 42 45 or where staff deliberately selected entrants who had guessed the answer incorrectly to prolong the competition 33 Denying prizes to genuine winners in the case of The Clare McDonnell Show some entrants who had guessed the correct answer were refused the prize as they had already won previous competitions on BBC 6 Music 46 Inclusion of competitions in pre recorded programmes edit On several occasions Ofcom sanctioned broadcasters for broadcasting competitions and other services as live whereas the programmes were pre recorded and anyone who called to use the services offered had no chance of doing so These included five editions of Tony Blackburn 47 eight editions of Dermot O Leary 48 and 31 different broadcasts on ITV2 s timeshift service ITV2 1 broadcast an hour later 49 Though a breach was recorded against ITV regarding a similar incident during a repeat of People s Court no sanction was issued 40 The BBC were sanctioned for repeating a falsified competition from Blue Peter see above on CBBC 37 Non inclusion of SMS entrants edit In the case of Gameshow Marathon ITV was sanctioned for its lack of clarity regarding whether people entering competitions via SMS had been included 45 Flawed logic competitions edit In two of ITV2 s competitions The Mint and Glitterball incorrect answers had been announced as correct In The Mint the answer to a wordsearch style game was announced as TUNA despite the grid not containing the letter U In a Glitterball word making game the answer HATCH had been derived from the word ENCHANTED despite rules stating that letters could only be used once and only one letter H was available Though Ofcom recorded breaches no sanctions were issued 40 List of breaches recorded by Ofcom edit Below is a table containing a list of breaches and where relevant sanctions imposed by Ofcom including the broadcaster s name and the programme it related to Broadcaster Affected programme Sanction fine Date of finding Source Channel 5 Brainteaser 300 000 26 June 2007 32 BBC One CBBC Blue Peter 50 000 9 July 2007 37 GMTV GMTV 2 000 000 26 September 2007 43 Channel 4 Deal or No Deal 500 000 20 December 2007 44 Channel 4 Richard amp Judy 1 000 000 20 December 2007 41 Granada Soapstar Superstar 1 200 000 8 May 2008 39 ITV2 Playalong The Mint Make Your Play and Glitterball 275 000 8 May 2008 49 LWT Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway 3 000 000 8 May 2008 42 LWT Gameshow Marathon 1 200 000 8 May 2008 45 LWT I m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here None 8 May 2008 40 ITV People s Court None 8 May 2008 40 ITV2 Playalong The Mint and Glitterball None 8 May 2008 40 GCap Media One Network 1 110 000 27 June 2008 33 BBC 6 Music Russell Brand 17 500 30 July 2008 50 BBC One Children In Need 2005 35 000 30 July 2008 51 BBC One Comic Relief 2007 45 000 30 July 2008 52 BBC 6 Music The Liz Kershaw Show 115 000 30 July 2008 36 BBC Two CBBC TMi 50 000 30 July 2008 34 BBC 6 Music The Clare McDonnell Show 17 500 30 July 2008 46 BBC One Sport Relief 2006 45 000 30 July 2008 35 BBC Radio 1 The Jo Whiley Show 75 000 30 July 2008 53 BBC London 94 9FM Tony Blackburn 25 000 8 December 2008 47 BBC Radio 2 Dermot O Leary 70 000 8 December 2008 48 Channel TV British Comedy Awards 2004 British Comedy Awards 2005 80 000 2 October 2009 38 Aftermath editPresenters edit Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan presenters of the first identified problematic programme apologised to their viewers on their programme while denying any knowledge of wrongdoing on their programme Finnigan stated Richard and I knew nothing about this until late on Friday afternoon we were very shocked and also angry on your behalf We re very sorry 54 After the Deloitte report was published in October 2007 Ant and Dec who presented two of the affected programmes expressed disappointment at the findings of the investigations making it clear that they had no idea that compliance failures were occurring 55 This was seconded by director of ITV Michael Grade describing the pair s credits as executive producers as kind of a vanity credit 56 Ant and Dec confirmed in a statement that any profits from the next series of Saturday Night Takeaway would be donated to charity 57 Later in May 2008 they stated that they would be returning their wrongfully awarded British Comedy Award from 2005 58 Catherine Tate whose comedy sketch show was the rightful winner explained on an episode of The Graham Norton Show that she had finally received her award and joked about confronting Declan Donnelly in a supermarket 59 Ofcom edit As a result of the scandal and the subsequent investigations and sanctions that followed Ofcom announced its intention to raise the maximum fine that they could impose on ITV and its regional networks stating that the current guidelines did not provide sufficient incentives for the licensees to maintain broadcasting standards for the protection of members of the public from the inclusion of offensive and harmful material 60 Further incidents edit In December 2020 Ofcom found ITV to be in breach of the Broadcasting Code and their competition licensing conditions ITV made Ofcom aware that following mandatory third party verification of its competitions 40 000 postal entries into six competitions between 2016 and 2019 had failed to be included Postal entries are free to enter excluding delivery costs Ofcom opined that ITV failed to properly implement and execute procedures that are fundamental to ensuring compliance with rules regarding the operation of its broadcast competitions and the relevant licence conditions On this occasion no sanction was imposed 61 References edit Ofcom broadcast bulletin 46 PDF Ofcom 2005 10 24 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Sweney Mark 2006 10 05 Big Brother poll misled viewers rules watchdog The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 71 PDF Ofcom 2006 10 16 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 72 PDF Ofcom 2006 10 30 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a b Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 81 PDF Ofcom 2007 03 26 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 73 PDF Ofcom 2006 11 13 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 76 PDF 2007 01 15 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Gamecast UK Limited in respect of its service You TV2 TLCS 918 and also in respect of the material broadcast as You TV3 PDF Ofcom 2007 01 17 Archived PDF from the original on 2022 01 20 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Holmwood Leigh 2007 04 10 Free to air channel You TV2 loses licence after phone in fiasco The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a b Morris Steven 2007 02 19 Richard and Judy show faces inquiry over quiz The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Sweney Mark 2007 02 22 ICSTIS looks into Channel 4 phone in problem The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Regulator to investigate BBC cookery show The Guardian 2007 02 27 Archived from the original on 2014 10 02 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Deans Jason 2007 02 28 ITV overcharges X Factor voters The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Deans Jason 2007 03 01 Icstis chairman says viewers trust is at risk The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Gibson Owen correspondent media 2007 03 06 ITV halts phone in shows for charges review The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Gibson Owen 2007 03 13 ITV s premium rate quizzes given all clear The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Holmwood Leigh 2007 03 06 TV channels clear phone in shows The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Deans Jason 2007 03 08 Brainteaser drags Channel Five into phone in crisis The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Gibson Owen correspondent media 2007 03 14 TV phone in shows hit by more woes The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Holmwood Leigh 2007 03 12 Phone in row hits radio stations The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Holmwood Leigh 2007 03 13 Phone vote firm Eckoh to call in police The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a b Robinson James 2007 03 18 BBC faces huge fine in phones scandal The Observer ISSN 0029 7712 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Jowell takes serious line on phone in cheats The Guardian Press Association 2007 03 21 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Holmwood Leigh 2007 03 26 More ITV shows cleared in phone in review The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a b c Use of Premium Rate Interactive Services in ITV Programming Findings of Deloitte Review and ITV Investigation PDF Deloitte 2007 10 18 Archived PDF from the original on 2008 08 01 Retrieved 2020 12 14 via The Guardian a b Opera Telecom PhonepayPlus PhonepayPlus 2007 09 24 Archived from the original on 2008 10 11 Retrieved 2020 04 19 Panorama TVs Dirty Secrets Investigation in to Late Night Quiz Channels and Premium Rate Phone in retrieved 2021 12 15 a b Inquiry into premium rate telecoms services in television programmes Ofcom 2016 10 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 Gibson Owen correspondent media 2007 10 20 ITV faces criminal inquiry over cheating viewers The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 19 Serious Fraud Office SFO not to investigate TV phone in programmes and competitions sfo gov uk 2008 10 06 Archived from the original on 2008 10 06 Retrieved 2020 04 19 Sweney Mark Holmwood Leigh 2008 07 30 BBC fined 400 000 over unfair phone ins The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 04 18 a b Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd Channel 5 in respect of its service Channel 5 Five PDF Ofcom 2007 06 26 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee 30 of GCap Media plc s One Network radio stations PDF Ofcom 2008 06 27 Archived from the original on 2016 07 05 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its services BBC2 and CBBC TMi PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC1 Sport Relief PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC 6 Music Liz Kershaw PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation BBC in respect of its services BBC1 and CBBC PDF Ofcom 2007 07 09 Archived from the original on 2016 07 05 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c d e f Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Channel TV Ltd PDF Ofcom 2009 10 02 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c d e f g Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Granada Television Limited in respect of its service the Regional Channel 3 service transmitted across the ITV Network on ITV1 PDF Ofcom 2008 05 08 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c d e f Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 108 PDF Ofcom 2008 05 08 Archived PDF from the original on 2019 07 22 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a b c Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Channel Four Television Corporation in respect of its service Channel 4 PDF 2007 12 20 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c d e Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee LWT Holdings Limited in respect of its service the Regional Channel 3 service transmitted across the ITV Network on ITV1 PDF Ofcom 2008 05 08 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee GMTV Ltd in respect of its service the National Channel 3 service PDF Ofcom 2007 09 26 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee Channel Four Television Corporation in respect of its service Channel 4 PDF Ofcom 2007 12 20 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b c Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee LWT Holdings Limited in respect of its service the Regional Channel 3 service transmitted across the ITV Network on ITV1 PDF Ofcom 2008 05 08 Archived from the original on 2016 07 05 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC 6 Music Clare McDonnell PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC London 94 9FM PDF Ofcom 2008 12 18 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service Radio 2 PDF Ofcom 2008 12 18 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link a b Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee ITV2 Limited in respect of its service ITV2 1 PDF Ofcom 2008 05 08 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC 6 Music Russell Brand PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC1 Scotland Children in Need PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service BBC1 Comic Relief PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 05 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Adjudication of the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of its service Radio 1 Jo Whiley PDF Ofcom 2008 07 30 Archived from the original on 2016 07 04 Retrieved 2020 04 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Richard and Judy shocked by quiz scandal The Guardian 2007 02 19 Retrieved 2020 12 14 Conlan Tara 2007 10 18 Ant and Dec had no idea of ITV phone in problems The Guardian Retrieved 2020 12 14 Holmwood Richard Wray and Leigh 2007 10 18 Ant and Dec unaware of call TV problems confirms ITV boss The Guardian Retrieved 2020 12 14 Upset Ant and Dec give profits to charity after phone in scandal The Guardian 2007 10 21 Retrieved 2020 12 14 Ant and Dec to return comedy award after botched phone vote exposed The Guardian 2008 05 08 Retrieved 2020 12 14 Catherine Tate James Nesbitt and The Kooks The Graham Norton Show Season 3 Episode 12 2008 07 03 BBC BBC One Review of ITV Networking Arrangements PDF Ofcom 2009 09 10 Archived PDF from the original on 2021 07 05 Retrieved 2020 04 19 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin Issue 416 PDF Ofcom 2020 12 07 Archived PDF from the original on 2020 12 07 Retrieved 2020 12 14 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2007 British premium rate phone in scandal amp oldid 1200353539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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