Quiz Channel Admits Rip Off
According to a report from the DTG website, Quizcall has been blocking contestants for 40 minutes. I would have thought that Ftn’s Quiz Night Live would have been the prime candidate for unfortunate behaviour but there we go.
An extract is provided below courtesy of DTG and the full story can be found at www.dtg.org.uk.
“Channel 4's premium rate TV channel, Quiz Call, has reportedly admitted blocking callers from taking part for up to 40 minutes. The admission comes as Ofcom considers plans to reclassify the growing number of digital quiz channels as teleshopping services, subject to Advertising Standards Authority regulation, and the Gambling Commission mulls treating them as lotteries rather than competitions—a move that would see quiz channels forced to hand over 20% of profits to charities.
The Sunday Times said 13 quiz channels were now generating annual revenues estimated at around £160m. A source close to Quiz Call, operated by Channel 4 commercial subsidiary Ostrich Media, said phone revenues—calls cost 75p—are boosted by not putting calls through to the on-screen quizmaster during busy periods.”
Source - http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=467073
Also, from Times Online:
The show uses a variety of ploys to entice viewers to call in. One source who recently worked on Quiz Call said: “They will change the music, focus on close-ups of money, close-ups of the phone; they will go for 30-40 seconds without anything being said, with sound effects like a heartbeat or submarine sonar to build up tension.
Source - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2372445,00.html
