UK Gov Threatens To Ban TV Phone-Ins
By James Quintana Pearce - Wed 09 May 2007 07:38 AM PST
This is exactly what the industry hopes to avoid—governmental regulation. However, after a series of scandals around the UK’s TV premium phone call industry broadcasting minister Shaun Woodward said the government takes the breaches “really very seriously” and would consider imposing a blanket ban if broadcasters don’t “clean up their act”, reports the Guardian. “In the same way the advertising of children’s junk food was banned, we would be prepared to do the same here, though of course I would much rather that it didn’t come to that and that the broadcasters got their own house in order,” Mr Woodward said, speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch.”
This is probably more to apply some pressure on the industry rather than a likely outcome—the two regulators involved (Icstis on premium calls and Ofcom as the media regulator) are already conducting investigations and proposing measures specifically designed to avoid government intervention. However, if they don’t do a good enough job and government does go a-banning it will eliminate a fairly big industry, and the primary way people use mobile phones to interact with TV shows.
Gambling In On The Act: I’ve received an e-mail with comments from Scott Davies, director of games and lottery service provider, Million 2-1. He notes that the Gambling Commission is “currently reviewing its forthcoming Gambling Act to take account of, amongst other things, premium rate competitions and quizzes. The Act will come to fruition this September and it is highly likely that these games formats will be reviewed for levels of skill or classified as lotteries (and therefore require a lottery licence to operate) unless they offer a truly ‘free’ entry route”, indicating yet another regulator governing the premium call industry.
He said that most shows get around being a lottery by offering a free route to entry via the internet, but the proposed Gambling Act states that the free entry method be no more expensive and no less convenient than the other methods—a phone call. He argues that the demographic of people that enter TV quizzes are the least likely to have direct access to an internet connection, making it fail that criteria. It also makes the competition unfair. “A high percentage of quiz TV prizes are actually won by a small percentage of players who have abused the free entry route and this is a major anomaly. For example, free entry players usually use all of their
allowed 150 entries per day (students etc.) whilst those paying to play have an average of 6 entries per day...Given it is now an ICSTIS requirement to publish the odds for such operations this anomaly is going to be exposed for the first time which will no doubt have a very negative impact on the industry and the commerciality of operations in this space.”
Posted in: Countries, Europe, UK, Media & Publishing, TV Promos
