Channel 5 fined £300k for quiz show irregularities - Techwatch Support Forums: Digital & Satellite TV, FTA, Cable, Computers, Mobile Phones, Apple and General Tech Forums

Analoguesat · 28-06-07, 08:02 AM

Ofcom has imposed a record fine of £300,000 on Five over breaches of the broadcasting code by Brainteaser.

On March 8, Five pulled the quiz participation TV programme off the air after it was alerted to "issues" by production company Endemol. At the time, Five CEO Jane Lighting said the channel was "shocked and disappointed" and offered an unreserved apology to viewers. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Five was considering the submission of a compensation claim to Endemol to cover lost revenue.

Ofcom's content sanctions committee has adjudicated that Brainteaser breached rule 2.11 of the broadcasting code, which pertains to the fair conduct of competitions, on five occasions: once on January 25, twice on February 15, once on February 20 and once more on March 6.

In a statement, the committee said:

"The use of production staff posing as ‘winners’ and the entry of fake names was in breach of Rule 2.11 of the Code which states: “Competitions should be conducted fairly…”. Viewers were misled into believing that genuine winners had been awarded a prize when in some cases no-one had actually won the competition in accordance with the programme’s rules."

The committee further said that the entering of fake names or production staff as winners "had become an established part of the procedures in place for the conduct of these competitions over a period of years dating back to 2003" and for that reason considered that the five specified breaches "should be seen against a background of serious and longstanding compliance failures" that resulted in the audience being "substantially misled."

Ofcom has specified that in addition to payment of the fine, Five will have to broadcast a statement of the regulator's findings on two occasions - once during the lunchtime slot in which Brainteaser aired, and once during peak time.

Full adjudication

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/ocsc_adjud/channel5.pdf

(Ofcom)

28-06-07, 08:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Analoguesat manic midlander retired mod Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Scottish Borders Posts: 11,668 Thanks: 21 Thanked 1,339 Times in 990 Posts	Channel 5 fined £300k for quiz show irregularities Ofcom has imposed a record fine of £300,000 on Five over breaches of the broadcasting code by Brainteaser. On March 8, Five pulled the quiz participation TV programme off the air after it was alerted to "issues" by production company Endemol. At the time, Five CEO Jane Lighting said the channel was "shocked and disappointed" and offered an unreserved apology to viewers. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Five was considering the submission of a compensation claim to Endemol to cover lost revenue. Ofcom's content sanctions committee has adjudicated that Brainteaser breached rule 2.11 of the broadcasting code, which pertains to the fair conduct of competitions, on five occasions: once on January 25, twice on February 15, once on February 20 and once more on March 6. In a statement, the committee said: "The use of production staff posing as ‘winners’ and the entry of fake names was in breach of Rule 2.11 of the Code which states: “Competitions should be conducted fairly…”. Viewers were misled into believing that genuine winners had been awarded a prize when in some cases no-one had actually won the competition in accordance with the programme’s rules." The committee further said that the entering of fake names or production staff as winners "had become an established part of the procedures in place for the conduct of these competitions over a period of years dating back to 2003" and for that reason considered that the five specified breaches "should be seen against a background of serious and longstanding compliance failures" that resulted in the audience being "substantially misled." Ofcom has specified that in addition to payment of the fine, Five will have to broadcast a statement of the regulator's findings on two occasions - once during the lunchtime slot in which Brainteaser aired, and once during peak time. Full adjudication http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/ocsc_adjud/channel5.pdf (Ofcom) __________________ Basic forum rules for both satellite & cable: no keys no patches no offering or asking for card shares Anyone pm'ing me for details of card sharing or anything to do with hacking cable will be banned immediately Analogue forever!!