It's A Fix!
Over a year ago I blogged about a new idea that was being tried on mainstream television after a tryout on satellite and digital TV.
We had broadcasters offering cash to viewers who phoned in with answers to puzzles shown on screen. It could be seemingly as simple as a list of ten films starring a particular film star but over the months it started to become obvious that questions were being asked about how and who was being put through. You might the way the presenter talked believe that you were the only person being put through to the studio but there could be thousands on the line and being connected would not be a guarantee that you'd be chosen but you'd still be charged.
Then there could be subtle nuances within the game that would make it likely that the games could be dragged out for hours and hours.
The most famous incident was a question of what a woman carries around in her handbag and one item was(and it could happen but it would be rare)and that's a rawl plug. What's that? You know if you want to put a screw in the wall to hang a picture it makes the screw more solid to take the weight it's like a little plastic plug.
All kind of things started to unravel and most of the channels were investigated and eventually fined, closed down or the public lost faith and because they felt they had been taken for a ride, the profit margins meant the channels couldn't survive anymore.
Unfortunately, stories then started to come out about mainstream programmes on mainstream channels where you phone in to see a favourite contestant win a singing competition.
Or you phone in hoping to win a money prize or perhaps a selection of prizes. Or take part in a competition.
The TV industry has been shown to have been running quite a few scams(knowingly and unknowingly)
Examples would be...celebrities from soaps singing and being voted for by the public but producers ignoring who the viewer wanted to keep on the programme and still deciding who they thought should still be brought back.
People phoning in to play a game not realising that the person had already been chosen so anyone phoning in would be charged but have no chance of being picked.
A popular quiz that had run for years had insiders who worked on a programme phone in and even appear on the programme as contestants.
The list of problems is practically endless.
The BBC has had it's problems but the commercial TV sector is where most of this has happened.
So today after many reports our main commercial TV organisation with over 50 years service has been slapped with the largest fine ever given in the history of British broadcasting.
I have never taken part in any of these contests and always questioned money raised even when its for a charitable cause and even if the contest procedures have now been cleaned up and will no longer be suspect, I will not be adding to their profits. I suspect the British public for all this will still continue to phone in.
I thought having passed an opinion on the story ages ago I should bring you the conclusion and the easiest way is to give a link to the story on the net.
It's not one of television's finest days.
One Version Of The Story
We had broadcasters offering cash to viewers who phoned in with answers to puzzles shown on screen. It could be seemingly as simple as a list of ten films starring a particular film star but over the months it started to become obvious that questions were being asked about how and who was being put through. You might the way the presenter talked believe that you were the only person being put through to the studio but there could be thousands on the line and being connected would not be a guarantee that you'd be chosen but you'd still be charged.
Then there could be subtle nuances within the game that would make it likely that the games could be dragged out for hours and hours.
The most famous incident was a question of what a woman carries around in her handbag and one item was(and it could happen but it would be rare)and that's a rawl plug. What's that? You know if you want to put a screw in the wall to hang a picture it makes the screw more solid to take the weight it's like a little plastic plug.
All kind of things started to unravel and most of the channels were investigated and eventually fined, closed down or the public lost faith and because they felt they had been taken for a ride, the profit margins meant the channels couldn't survive anymore.
Unfortunately, stories then started to come out about mainstream programmes on mainstream channels where you phone in to see a favourite contestant win a singing competition.
Or you phone in hoping to win a money prize or perhaps a selection of prizes. Or take part in a competition.
The TV industry has been shown to have been running quite a few scams(knowingly and unknowingly)
Examples would be...celebrities from soaps singing and being voted for by the public but producers ignoring who the viewer wanted to keep on the programme and still deciding who they thought should still be brought back.
People phoning in to play a game not realising that the person had already been chosen so anyone phoning in would be charged but have no chance of being picked.
A popular quiz that had run for years had insiders who worked on a programme phone in and even appear on the programme as contestants.
The list of problems is practically endless.
The BBC has had it's problems but the commercial TV sector is where most of this has happened.
So today after many reports our main commercial TV organisation with over 50 years service has been slapped with the largest fine ever given in the history of British broadcasting.
I have never taken part in any of these contests and always questioned money raised even when its for a charitable cause and even if the contest procedures have now been cleaned up and will no longer be suspect, I will not be adding to their profits. I suspect the British public for all this will still continue to phone in.
I thought having passed an opinion on the story ages ago I should bring you the conclusion and the easiest way is to give a link to the story on the net.
It's not one of television's finest days.
One Version Of The Story
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 3:00 am
3 Comments:
Hi Gildy,
The Ant n' Dec revelations and subsequent 'all right it was me and I'll come quietly' apology just show how corrupt these things can become. Interesting to see how ITV changed its mind between Wednesday and Friday, firstly Robbie Williams didn't say he would only present the award if A and D had won and then he did say it!
I'm not sure how much the diminutive Geordies had to do with the whole thing but surely it can't do them much good being associated with this fix and the one that surrounded 'I'm A C-List celebrity get me off this Australian film set'.
And then the BBC admits it hasn't paid £160,000 over to a charity, the error was discovered during an audit. See, us auditors aren't a complete waste of time and money.
If only we knew half of what goes on Paul...
The ordinary guy in the street often gets chased after for trying to keep his head above water and yet unless a story like this breaks, the really serious stuff goes un-noticed.
Paul,
I cannot leave comments on your blog for some reason(maybe you've changed your settings?)
Post a Comment
<< Home