'Impossible' phone-ins cut off
Given the recent spate of premium rate phone-in quiz scandals, it was inevitable that Ofcom would have to bow to increasing pressure and actively enforce a new set of rules controlling the very nature of competitions that rely on premium rate phone calls. Although Ofcom isn't currently responsible for regulating the actual phone lines, it is still responsible for various aspects of programme content, and the phone lines are merely tools used to achieve a planned objective - namely to make money.
It will be interesting to see what will happen to some of these money-making quizzes as a consequence, but all of this has been a wake-up call to TV producers everywhere in that they have a legal responsibility for what goes on air. And this also threatens to shake up the relationship between TV producers and the companies responsible for supplying the phone lines.
The Gambling Commission is also likely to impose further rules in this area as well, which could inevitably spell the end for channels such as Quiz Call. It's likely that Michael Grade foresaw these potential problems as part of his earlier decision to axe the ITV Play channel, though Quizmania continues to operate overnight on ITV channels, at least for the time being.
In the meantime, tonight's Panorama (8.30pm, BBC One) should prove to be interesting for what it has to say about premium phone line TV quizzes and voting systems.
