ITV suspend all premium phone in programmes

[Darren]

All their programmes featuring premium phone calls are either being taken off air or having quizzes suspended until they are satisfied there are no issues. This has come after the X Factor overcharged callers by 200,000.

This means ITV Play and Dancing On Ice are coming off completely, and Loose Women & This Morning, and Millionaire are also affected.

Is this a sign that people are fed up with these things? It seems that just about every prime show asks us to call expensive numbers for little or no reward.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6420885.stm

[Pip Madeley]

Interesting - maybe instead of those late night quiz shows, they'll show some proper programming.

[Dirk Gently]

I wouldn't mind them charging for the calls if the money went to charity but they just use these programmes as cash cows & I for one won't phone them.

[WhiteCrow]

ITV Play is nothing but phone a premium phone line.

[Alex]

The ITV Play style channels are just hideous, aren't they? I went for a job interview about two years ago for one of them and it was so poorly run, just out of a small industrial park unit, and everyone I met seemed to be doing it just for the money, and took no enjoyment out of the job. I would've of course taken the job if it had been offered, but I wasn't really upset when it wasn't, watching one of their channels all day (it was a vision mixer position y'see) would've driven me insane.

[WhiteCrow]

I have to say though I'd rather see Richard and Judy suspended ... from a crane with piano wire around their necks ...

[Dave Tudor]

It's about time these sorts of things were investigated. At least when the BBC do phone-in votes and the like, the money goes to charity. OK, so ITV are not funded by a licence and have to make money somehow, but it seems the revenue from advertisers is no longer enough, and they just seem to be getting greedier. Losing a current prime time show like 'Dancing On Ice' and, potentially, future series of 'I'm A Celebrity...' and 'The X Factor' will surely hit them hard.

I don't think many people will miss ITV Play and the like, as those shows were just a complete rip-off. I'll miss the lovely Alex Kramer, though:

[Milky Tears]

I'd like to see Debbie King's suspenders on ITV Play. The Debbie King Show is on right now.

[Dirk Gently]

I don't think that Dancing on Ice has been suspended as it still appears on TV schedules but they might have suspended the phone in portion of the show...unless they are going to fast-track that portion of their 'investigation'.

[Paul Monk]

Everyones acting as though you HAVE to phone these numbers. If you don't like them don't phone. I agree that the charges need to be made clearer but don't see any other problem with them.

[Perry Vale]

Everyones acting as though you HAVE to phone these numbers. If you don't like them don't phone. I agree that the charges need to be made clearer but don't see any other problem with them.

That's not really what the main problem here is though Paul. Shows like Ant & Dec have been inviting viewers to phone a 1 a call phone line to have the chance to be on the show, when it appears the shows makers had already chosen/decided the contestants, thus meaning callers have absolutely no chance of getting on, but still being 1 (or whatever) worse off. Richard & Judy have been doing the same too, and quite a few others.

Tock.

[Dirk Gently]

I think the problem is that during an 'episode' of X'factor people who phoned in were charged a fee & this charge was higher than people were led to believe the charge would be.

I don't mind programmes that do this phone in stuff (as I never phone them) but I do mind these late night 'game' shows that have seemingly easy questions & after 10 callers have phoned in with answers & the the time runs out & you never hear what the answer is as it has 'rolled over'. This was brought up in a news paper not so long ago. I was told that this question 'rolled over' 4 times & then was dropped without the answer being given. So in effect this question earned the programme 1.00 per call & never cost them a prize.

I've just noticed that the nightly 'quiz' programmes have been cancelled but are to resume on Thursday night (midnight) with 'Make Your Play'. So that means those Dancing on Ice fans will be able to vote until their fingers are raw.

[Paul Monk]

Fair enough then. I didn't realise the full scope of these things.

[Si Hunt]

I'm tempted to agree with Paul and say you deserve all you get if you 'phone these expensive rip-off vote shows... but I guess it needs to be investigated.

Why can't they be done by studio vote? ITV are funded by masses of advertising, so why do they need the public to pay for the shows (and then some) as well. Have you seen what it costs to vote into the X-Factor or "I'm A Celeb"? And how many people vote? These things must make MILLIONS! And they're on all year! And LOADS of people phone in, like millions. They must make a million a show on some of these things, and half of them cost about 12p to make! Stop this blatant cash cow profiteering, and go back to paying for your own programmes ITV!

Si.

[Perry Vale]

ITV Play made 9 million profit in their first six months on air, iirc.

[Si Hunt]

See why don't they set up channels like that to fund road repairs, or hospitals? Let the stupid pay for everything voluntarily and scrap all tax!

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

[Milky Tears]

Breaking News from Media Guardian:

"12.35pm: Channel Five has suspended all premium-rate phone services, after discovering a problem with Endemol daily quizshow Brainteaser. More follows ...


Premium-rate services regulator Icstis to hold press conference about participation TV crisis from 2pm ..."

[Si Hunt]

Someone came on the BBC this morning (a former employee, which is always enlightening) and said that basically "This Morning" is only still going because of the cash it makes through it's phone in!

Si.

[Dave Tudor]

Breaking News from Media Guardian:

"12.35pm: Channel Five has suspended all premium-rate phone services, after discovering a problem with Endemol daily quizshow Brainteaser. More follows ..."

Bloody hell! First they get rid of Alex Kramer and 'Make Your Play', and now they're taking the lovely Alex Lovell off the air!



It's a conspiracy to rid television of all good-looking women called Alex, I tell yer, or perhaps it isn't.

[Dirk Gently]

I think they should leave all the female Alex's on TV & just lose the crappy quiz phone-ins. Just hours of Alex from Midnight to 4:AM.

[Dave Tudor]

Blimey, I'd never sleep!

[Joe Meredith]

I thought something like this might happen; the worst quiz I saw was 'The Great Big British Quiz' one night on channel five. There was some question about a dog who met another dog and then those dogs met five dogs and all those met... and so on. The question was how many dogs were there in all - and the thing was on all night, nobody won a farthing from the whole programme and the answer wasn't even revelealed at the end! What a total con!

[Dirk Gently]

And you'd get cramp in your wrist.

[Milky Tears]

No *****teaser this afternoon!