Ofcom has proposed a series of amendments to the Broadcasting Code that will tighten the regulations surrounding the use of premium rate phone services on programmes involving quizzes, psychic and adult chat.
Such insertions are a staple of daytime TV with a number of dedicated channels found in the nether regions of the Sky EPG.
The regulator says the rules will ensure that such programmes are not vehicles for promoting commercial, revenue-generating services.
Ofcom’s new Broadcasting Code rules state that:
- Where PRS is used in a programme for audience participation, it must not be given undue prominence within the programme;
- The programme must consist primarily of content other than the promotion of the PRS;
- The primary purpose of the programme must be editorial, and any commercial activity associated with the PRS, such as generation of call revenues, must be secondary to that purpose; and
- Broadcasters may only charge viewers via PRS call charges and not by other means such as credit card or direct debit.
The revision follows last October’s judgement by the European Court of Justice in October 2007 that a quiz TV show could be classified as teleshopping. Ofcom believes that the rules should be extended to participation TV services.
A consultation on the new rules has been opened with a deadline of May 22, 2008
