A number of phone-in competition scandals erupted last year as
it was found that competitions were taking entry fees from viewers
via premium rate phone services even when they had no chance of
winning the competition or of their votes being counted.
All UK terrestrial broadcasters were implicated in a phone-in
scandal last year. The new measure is designed to reduce confusion
about who regulates the phone-ins, and Ofcom said it would conduct
spot-checks on broadcasters to ensure compliance.
Premium rate telephone regulator PhonepayPlus has also acted. It
now demands that any phone service provider which wants to
participate in television phone-ins must first gain permission from
it.
PhonepayPlus has set down a number of conditions which must be
met before a company can be licensed to provide these services.
Those conditions say that operators must ensure that all viewer
entries are included in any random draw, that phone lines close
when it is claimed they do, and that systems and procedures are not
changed without authorisation from the company's senior
management.
Following confusion about who was in charge of regulating an
area which covered premium rate telecoms companies as well as
broadcasters, PhonepayPlus has said that Ofcom will now be the lead
regulator on television competitions. Phone line service providers
will still need prior permission from PhonepayPlus before
participating in competitions, though.
"Broadcasters are now ultimately responsible for premium rate
services on their programmes, and Ofcom will take the lead in
ensuring that viewers are protected," said George Kidd, chief
executive of PhonepayPlus.
"Where television broadcasters invite viewers to participate in
programmes, they are directly responsible for the handling of all
communications - whether by phone, email or post - from viewers,"
said an Ofcom statement. "Ofcom will undertake an initial 12 to 18
month programme of unannounced spot-checks to ensure broadcasters
are complying with this requirement."
The changes must be implemented by June of this year, Ofcom
said, and broadcasters have a period of just four weeks in which to
respond to the plans.
“Ofcom will not hesitate to take firm action with broadcasters
who step out of line and mislead people," said Ed Richards, Ofcom
chief executive. “Viewers must be confident that they will be
treated fairly and consistently when interacting with television
programmes. These measures will ensure that broadcasters are
directly accountable and give greater protection for all.”
The scandals last year resulted in major fines. Ofcom fined
Channel 4 £1.5 million in December, the ITV company GMTV £2 million
and the BBC £50,000 in relation to phone-in scandals. Richards
recently wrote to the Culture and Media Secretary asking for
changes in the law to give Ofcom greater powers to combat editorial
abuses.
