A number of phone-in competition scandals erupted last year as it was found that competitions were taking entry fees from viewers via premium rate phone services even when they had no chance of winning the competition or of their votes being counted.
All UK terrestrial broadcasters were implicated in a phone-in scandal last year. The new measure is designed to reduce confusion about who regulates the phone-ins, and Ofcom said it would conduct spot-checks on broadcasters to ensure compliance.
Premium rate telephone regulator PhonepayPlus has also acted. It now demands that any phone service provider which wants to participate in television phone-ins must first gain permission from it.
PhonepayPlus has set down a number of conditions which must be met before a company can be licensed to provide these services. Those conditions say that operators must ensure that all viewer entries are included in any random draw, that phone lines close when it is claimed they do, and that systems and procedures are not changed without authorisation from the company's senior management.
Following confusion about who was in charge of regulating an area which covered premium rate telecoms companies as well as broadcasters, PhonepayPlus has said that Ofcom will now be the lead regulator on television competitions. Phone line service providers will still need prior permission from PhonepayPlus before participating in competitions, though.
"Broadcasters are now ultimately responsible for premium rate services on their programmes, and Ofcom will take the lead in ensuring that viewers are protected," said George Kidd, chief executive of PhonepayPlus.
"Where television broadcasters invite viewers to participate in programmes, they are directly responsible for the handling of all communications - whether by phone, email or post - from viewers," said an Ofcom statement. "Ofcom will undertake an initial 12 to 18 month programme of unannounced spot-checks to ensure broadcasters are complying with this requirement."
The changes must be implemented by June of this year, Ofcom said, and broadcasters have a period of just four weeks in which to respond to the plans.
“Ofcom will not hesitate to take firm action with broadcasters who step out of line and mislead people," said Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive. “Viewers must be confident that they will be treated fairly and consistently when interacting with television programmes. These measures will ensure that broadcasters are directly accountable and give greater protection for all.”
The scandals last year resulted in major fines. Ofcom fined Channel 4 £1.5 million in December, the ITV company GMTV £2 million and the BBC £50,000 in relation to phone-in scandals. Richards recently wrote to the Culture and Media Secretary asking for changes in the law to give Ofcom greater powers to combat editorial abuses.
