Britain’s premium rate television quiz shows like ITV’s Quiz Mania and Channel 4’s Quiz Call have been accused of misleading the public by MPs who said they should be more strictly regulated.
An inquiry by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, heard evidence from television executives, producers and representatives of Ofcom and Citizens Advice Bureau today, following widespread concerns people were being exploited by the programmes.
Viewers who call the quiz shows are charged 75p every time, regardless of whether they get through to the studio to answer a question or not. Some are left with telephone bills running into hundreds of pounds to pay.
At peak times the odds of getting through to one show in particular was 5,000 - 1, the Committee heard.
Advertisement
MPs said today that they were concerned the interactive quiz programmes were not giving enough information to viewers and were manipulating the number of callers to maximise profits.
One channel, Big Game TV, due to give evidence at the inquiry today, is currently under investigation by police for alleged fraud.
Shari Vahl, from the BBC Radio 4 consumer programme, You and Yours, which conducted an investigation into call television quiz shows, leading to the investigation of Big Game TV, gave evidence at the meeting today.
“I certainly think there needs to be transparency and openness. If you do have a chance of getting through then it would be nice to know what that is,” she said.
She said that viewers were not given enough information about their chances of getting through and should be told how much they are being charged every time they call.
Advertisement
Most callers to these programmes hear an automated message telling them they have failed to get through to the studio, and are disconnected. A small number are put on hold and told they could be put through but are eventually cut off.
The chances of getting through are incredibly slim. Jeff Henry, director of ITV consumer admitted that 400,000 callers contacted The Mint during the four hours the programme was on air and that at least one in 400 had a chance of getting through.
When asked why viewers were not told there was such a small chance of getting through, Mr Henry said the figures changed so quickly, they would be immediately out of date and therefore misleading.
“What is misleading,” said Nigel Evans MP “is having somebody on TV like (newsreader) Nick Owen who says phone this number and win a prize.
“The reason you do not put the odds of people getting through on the screen is that people would not phone.”
Advertisement
The ITV show Quiz Mania was singled out for criticism by the Committee for unfair questioning. Members cited one instance when viewers were asked to name items inside a women’s handbag, of which the top answer was wall plugs.
William Van Rees, controller of ITV Play said: “When we saw that, we were disappointed. We were surprised by the decision to put that as an answer.
“We took the producer off the programme - yes it was an answer, but it was one of many answers.”
Labour MP Paul Farrelly asked about the restrictions imposed on people after they had made 150 calls at a premium rate to the channel.
ITV Play prevents a caller from playing in the competition, but they still pay the premium rate of 75p when they try to call. Mr Henry insisted that competitors were warned and told repeatedly that they would no longer enter the competition but still have to pay the money.
Advertisement
But Mr Farrelly was not impressed: “Have you taken any legal advice as to whether that constitutes theft?” Mr Henry replied: “We do not believe it constitutes theft.”
George Kidd, chief executive of premium rate regulator ICSTIS, said he had not heard that people were still charged after being barred from the competition, and said he would look into it.
Concerns about the programmes surfaced earlier this year when Quiz Call, owned by Ostrich Media, a subsidiary of Channel 4’s commercial arm, 4Ventures, was accused of cutting off all callers over a 40 minute period, telling them they had been unsuccessful so they would call back again.
Today a representative of Channel 4 admitted they were aware of one occasion when callers to Quiz Call were cut off.
She said: “We found one instance of a producer behaving inappropriately. That person is no longer working on the programme. That is not acceptable behaviour and not what we are seeking to do.”
Advertisement
Quiz Call is funded almost entirely by its premium rate line, and has been criticised in the past for using its own staff to pose as prize winners, clutching a 3ft cheque in an on-air promotion.
This year Ofcom, the regulatory body, expects to receive in excess of 800 complaints about interactive television quiz shows, up from 450 complaints in 2005.
The Gambling Commission wants to treat quiz channels as lotteries rather then competitions, forcing them to apply for licences and give 20 per cent of their profits to charity. BSkyB also made this claim.
However, broadcasters said that the chance to compete for free is available over the internet means they should not be classed as a lottery.