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ITV phone-in scams revealed

It may be a scandal breaking in the UK, but the culture of TV phone-ins is not exclusive to Britain. Investigators have discovered wide-ranging and serious deception in television voting programmes. What they revealed shows habitual and fraudulent behaviour.

Viewers had paid more than £7.8 million ($17.8m) on phone calls which they thought was influencing reality programmes.

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway neglected to tell viewers that one of its competitions was only interested in contestants within 1hr travel of the contest’s “travelling pig.” Producers shortlisted the most exciting contestants rather than pick them at random.

Soapstar Superstar threw out two singing contestants despite them not receiving the lowest amount of votes. Scotland Year is indicating it may investigate the matter.

In Queensland last week the state’s Attorney-General Kerry Shine called on reality voting shows to have free voting systems. “While these programs target the key 18 to 35 years demographic because of their high disposable income, I am concerned that many of those viewers who are voting are teenagers who may not be able to afford the associated costs,” Mr Shine said.

Big Brother has previously booted the wrong contestant when it accidentally evicted Bree Amer then reinstated her into the BB House after realising a counting error. This year during the show’s finale, numbers were unable to be correctly calculated in the allocated time frame.

Sources: The West, The Age

4 Responses

  1. I am outraged, as a QlDer that our Attorney General has nothing better to do! In fact, we know he has LOTS to do – such as changing the ‘accidental death’ requirements in QLD law, which have been exposed by the ABC as being woefully inadequate

  2. Yes, viewers really are that stupid.

    Take The Mint for example, how many people call up with the exact same answer that was just given?

    Moreover, people call up with the simplest and most obvious answers, when the show is clearly after something different. That doesn’t stop them calling in.

  3. Finally these phone poll shows are exposed for what they really are. Money making machines. Also why aren’t these local call rates instead of sms rates?

    Why would anyone pay to vote on these shows has got me stuffed.

  4. Be afraid, Nine. Be afraid.

    Why is it that only I and a handful of others have called “SCAM” on Quizmania, The Mint and other networks’ scam money-grabbing shows?

    Surely the viewers aren’t THAT stupid. Are they…?

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