‘Participation TV’ is what we in the 'industry' call those interminable quizzes that ITV and others run overnight to swindle viewers out of cash. You know, the onces presented by perma-tanned grinning morons weilding big red 'phones. At first, they seem like harmless fun, and strangley addictive viewing. But watch carefully and you soon realise the cunning and dishonesty hat lies at their core. They are nothing short of theft, and specifically target the poor and stupid who are least able to afford them.
It is true that nobody is forcing viewers to ring up. But they may as well be. Over the last few weeks, it has been revealed publicly that producers, phone operators, and broadcasters have used a variety of dishonest and misleading techniques to convince people to take part. They've urged viewers to call in and influence a proagramme that has already been recorded(Saturday Kitchen); they've suggested viewers enter a draw to play a game, when that day's player has already been chosen (Richard and Judy); they've got members of their own production team to fake calls and pretend to be winners (Brainteaser); and they've simply overcharged viewers for their 'participation' (The X Factor, which made £200,000 by overcharging red-button voters on the Sky platform). So while nobody has been forced to phone up, we can hardly claim that they gave informed consent when they decided to do so. They based their decision on incorrect and misleading information, and often gave their money thinking that they stood a chance of winning more, when they absolutely did not.
Premium rate phone numbers have made their way into all sorts of programmes, and represent a great way for programme makers and broadcasters to generate extra revenue. Those of us who work in development know how important it is to think up ways to weave them into our ideas, especially in this era of ‘360 degree’ programming (that's what we call it when we rip you off on the web, on the phone, and on screen at the same time. And afterwards we'll try and rip you off in a podcast, just as soon as we've caught up and figured out what taht is).
But within the last couple of years, an altogether more serious kind of programme has been born: no longer is the premium rate cash grab an add-on to an already entertaining programme, it has instead become the main and sole purpose of the programme. Presenters unlike any we had seen before are suddenly on our screens for hours at a time, urging, begging, pleading with us to phone in. This is big business, with programme makers raking cash in--over a million per week in some cases.
So now channels are pulling their participation shows left right and centre, apparently scandalised by the ‘irregularities’ in their operation. In truth, they’ve all known about it for ages. There’s simply been an unspoken deal between the producers, the broadcasters, and the telecoms operators that as long as the money is flooding in, it doesn’t matter how dodgy the programme is. Because they've always known exactly what is going on. One leading head of a production company I worked for commented when she got a huge commission for this style of programming that it was 'only one step up from porn'.
Once again, the TV business has reacted like a small child caught with his hand in the biscuit tin: it has more or less universally denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, blaming technical issues, or misunderstandings. Everyone has blamed someone else, with the channels now trying to keep their own reputations untarnished by immediately stopping the broadcast f all competitions and games relying on premium rate phone numbers. They wouldn’t be doing this unless they strongly suspected (or knew) that there was far more dirt to come in a huge range of programmes. This is damage limitation.
The list so far of programmes and companies that have ripped people off is long, and growing daily. How damaged could these ‘brands’ be by this news? We’re talking Endemol, ITV, the BBC, and Cactus, not some unknown phone operator with nothing to lose. And what about the reputations of some of the nation’s much loved programmes themselves? Ricahrd & Judy, The X Factor, Saturday Kitchen, Quizmania, Brainteaser… will anyone ever trust them fully again?
Suddenly TV is being revealed not just to be a trusted educator, babysitter, and entertainer sitting in the corner of all of our living rooms, but also a dodgy, quick-talking, lying conman and thief, to be treated with great suspicion. No wonder people in the TV world are panicking. The truth is finally out.
