ITV is suspending all premium rate interactive services across its channels. The broadcaster has also announced an independent review of premium rate services across its interactive services. The review will cover all premium rate landline, mobile and red button services.

This is a direct fallout of the “Saturday Kitchen” Story. There viewers urged to call a “live” cookery show - hosted by North Yorkshire chef James Martin - had no chance of getting on air because it had been recorded a week earlier.

Viewers of Saturday Kitchen on February 17 thought they would be able to speak to guests live on air when Mr Martin asked them to call in at a rate of 10 pence a minute.

But the 90-minute programme had been filmed a week earlier, on February 10, and they had no chance to speak to the celebrity chef or his guests.

 

The row is the second controversy to hit Cactus, the production company that made it, and Eckoh, the firm which runs the phone lines. The companies are also being investigated over a phone-in on the Richard And Judy Show on Channel 4.Viewers of that programme were invited to phone a quiz using a premium-rate line after entries had closed. Eckoh runs the lines for both shows.

The time delay on the cookery show came to light when a watch worn by Mr Martin on the February 17 show gave the time as 2.30pm, different from the time of broadcast but the time of recording the previous week.

Because the February 10 and February 17 shows had been recorded together, viewers of the programme a week earlier had also lost out, because they were invited to phone in at 25 pence a minute to enter a competition to appear live in “next week’s show”, which was in fact about to be recorded.

ICSTIS already had initiated a meeting “with leading broadcasters, programme makers and premium rate service providers in the wake of the recent allegations made against premium rate interactive services to agree that practical steps can be taken to restore consumer trust and confidence in the sector.”

ITV will attend, too.

Posted on March 6th, 2007 by lbraum
Filed under: UK, Call-In TV, all