Police may be called in over premium-rate TV scandal

by Mark Banham, Brand Republic 09-Mar-07, 09:20

LONDON - Police may be called in to investigate the ongoing premium-rate phoneline scandal, after the chairman of the premium-rate number regulator Icstis said that he will involve them in the matter if there is clear evidence of fraud.

Sir Alistair Graham, chairman of Icstis, made his comments after Five suspended all programming involving premium-rate phonelines.

He said: "I assure you we will refer any such evidence to the police."

He made this comments as the regulator announced measures to restore faith in premium-rate services including a licensing regime and systematic monitoring.

Jane Lighting, the chief executive of Five, along with Michael Grade, the ITV executive chairman, and Andy Duncan, the Channel 4 chief executive, will now be called to explain their company's actions in front of a House of Commons media select committee.

Five said that incidents involving its programmes took place between January and March 6 and were brought to the broadcaster's attention by Endemol, after Five wrote to all its production companies and suppliers reminding them of their obligations to comply with the law and the codes of Ofcom and Icstis.

Endemol has told Five that its subsidiary Cheetah Television, the producer of 'Brainteaser', put fictional names on screen as winners, instead of informing viewers that no winning caller had been found before the winner was due to be announced.

Lighting has said that she wanted to apologise "unreservedly to the channel's viewers and was shocked and disappointed" that Cheetah had "failed to meet the high standards we demand of our suppliers".

Five has now suspended all programming featuring premium-rate lines, including 'Quiz Call'.

Five is the last of the terrestrial broadcasters to have been embroiled in the row about premium-rate calls. In the last few weeks, it has emerged that BBC One's 'Saturday Kitchen', Channel 4's 'Richard and Judy', ITV's 'X Factor', 'Dancing on Ice' and 'Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway' have been affected by irregularities.

On Tuesday, ITV said it had suspended its premium-rate phoneline activities and appointed independent auditor Deloitte to look into the matter. It has been estimated, by media analysts Credit Suisse, that the broadcaster is losing up to £1.5m a week.

Comments

Adam Richens - 09/03/2007

Over the past few years it would seem that you cannot sit down to a good evenings entertainment without being bombarded by presenters constantly giving you a phone number to call to cast your vote and quite honestly waste your money. Surely the future of TV does not rely on the consumer spending their hard earned cash on phoney calls in order for good television to be produced! We are constantly being told that this is interactive TV, well personally I think it is just rip off TV, you will never be able to convince me that the people in charge of these programmes were not aware of this situation. Surely it is time for there to be a major overview of independant TV in the UK and maybe it is time for those companies involved to rethink Light Entertainment on British TV. Quiz programmes are now boring with the only incentive to watch being the ever increasing winnings avaiable and I won't even venture into the sadness of programmes like Big Brother!!! The BBC have a license fee, BSKYB have paying Subscribers, so isn't it clear to the independants that we don't want more rubbish TV with constant adverts that serve no purpose, if they make good enough TV the consumer will have to start paying for it! Sad fact but true and it will take a brave man to announce that viewers would have to start paying for ITV and channels 4 and 5 but if they return to making good TV then consumers will pay, just ask anyone at Sky!!