UK ‘Quiz Show’ scandal line-up
p2pnet.net news:- In the continuing ITV ‘quiz’ channels saga, ITV head Michael Grade said viewers, “were in danger of losing their sense of humour after the channel was accused of asking an unanswerable question during a premium rate phone-in quiz.” says The Telegraph.
“Speaking to MPs, he defended the use of a cryptic maths question on the late-night Make Your Play show which proved so difficult that even an Oxford University maths professor was unable to solve it.”
ITV Play has been axed, to be replaced on Sky and Freeview by something called ITV2+1, and today the UK media are reporting the Channel 4 suspension of its Cheltenham horse-racing phone-ins.
According to the BBC, the main affected shows are:
- RICHARD AND JUDY – CHANNEL 4
- X FACTOR – ITV
- BRAINTEASER – FIVE
- ANT AND DEC’S SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY – ITV
- SOAPSTAR SUPERSTAR – ITV
Nor does the Beeb escape unscathed.
Its Saturday Kitchen also has problems, it admits, saying:
“Viewers were told to call in for the chance to appear on the following week’s show – even though it was recorded minutes after the live programme went off air.”
But, “A BBC spokesman said it was a simple mistake and all phone profits went to charity” and “Premium phone line regulator Icstis has launched an investigation.”
Meanwhile, “I don’t watch them,” saysa p2pnet reader. “They’re crap and the Swiss, German, French, Italian, Austrian channels show a lot of these late at night through the moring for people who like to throw their money away. It’s really a shame they resort to this for income instead of showing quality entertainment or old movies.
“It reminds me of that movie ‘Quiz Show’ from the early 90s.”
Also See:
The Telegraph – ‘Impossible’ quiz question defended by Grade, March 14, 2007
ITV2+1 – Quiz channel ITV Play yanked, March 13, 2007
BBC – The phone-in shows under scrutiny, March 13, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php | | And use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
March 14th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Now it turns out that Blue Peter has also been court out. There line was not a premium number but it higher normal rate (uk national rate).
They had a problem with getting calls thought to the studio in a competition. So they got a child who was in studio to call in with answer.
Some of the money at time was giving Unicef.
BBC Children’s controller Richard Deverell called the incident a “serious error of judgement”. The BBC did not make money from calls to the programme.
Blue Peter is one longest run children program in uk. It is highly respected by the public and one few programs for children which is mainly live in studio.