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U.K. watchdog issues BBC record $800K fine over phone-in scams

30.07.2008 21:02 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

The U.K.'s broadcast regulator has issued a 400,000 (about $812,880 Cdn) fine to public broadcaster BBC for a scandal involving bogus phone-in competitions.

"The BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly," the Office of Communications, known as Ofcom, said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The fine is the largest penalty the media watchdog has ever issued to the British broadcaster.

Eight BBC programs were specifically cited by the regulator and issued individual fines (which when tallied total 400,000):

Liz Kershaw Show, for episodes that aired on BBC 6 Music between May 2005 to January 2006.
Jo Whiley Show, for episodes that aired on BBC Radio 1 in April and May 2006.
TMi, for episodes in Sept. 2006.
The Comic Relief charity telethon, which aired on BBC One in March 2007.
The Sport Relief charity telethon, which aired on BBC One in July 2006.
The Children in Need charity telethon, which aired on BBC One in Scotland in Nov. 2005.
Russell Brand, which aired on BBC 6 Music in April 2006.
Clare McDonnell Show, which aired on BBC 6 Music in Sept. 2006.

Some shows invited callers to participate in contests despite having pre-recorded segments with its own production staff posing as winners. Others were found to have read out fictitious names as winners. Ofcom noted that several shows were repeat offenders.

Overall, the regulator said the public broadcaster "failed to have adequate management oversight of its compliance and training procedures to ensure that the audience was not misled."

Bogus phone-in contests a recurring problem

In July 2007, the BBC suspended all competitions after an internal inquiry discovered a host of bogus phone-in contests. It later unveiled a code of conduct for its competitions on TV, radio and online services, as well as a course for staffers about fair dealing with audiences.

The BBC Trust, the broadcaster's own watchdog and guiding body, said it recognized "that the penalty in these cases reflects that the breaches were serious, deliberate and in some cases repeated.

"These editorial failures were serious and, through our work, we are confident they have been taken seriously by those involved."

According to a BBC spokesman, management has accepted the findings and noted that "Ofcom has recognized that neither the BBC nor any member of staff made any money from these serious editorial lapses."

Falsified or scam phone-in contests have been an ongoing issue for several U.K. broadcasters.

The latest BBC fine comes after Ofcom fined British network ITV a record 5.67 million (about $11.5 million Cdn) in May for manipulating the results of phone-in contests.

Last year, the BBC was fined over a phone-in scandal tied to its popular Blue Peter children's show. Channel 4 has also been fined by Ofcom over phone-in contest scams for some of its programs, including the hit talk show Richard And Judy.

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No more contests on BBC after discovery of phoney phone-ins

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