CW
Charlie Wells
Moderator
Whilst this could go in the ITV Play as it covers quiz TV channels in general I think it';s worth its own thread....
From MediaGuardian: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1836759,00.html
Should be interesting to see the results of the public consultation, as some of the quizs barely require any skill.
From MediaGuardian: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1836759,00.html
Quote:
Participation TV may be a gamble
Mark Sweney
Friday August 4, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk
The Gambling Commission has opened a public consultation questioning the legality of many prize draws and competitions, a process that could threaten the business models of "participation TV" operations such as ITV's digital channel, ITV Play.
The consultation has been prompted by changes in UK gambling industry laws that will come into force late next year.
It will consider whether the simple questions used in various televised quizzes - that generate money from consumers calling premium-rate phone lines - are a form of gambling.
The consultation will look at whether the question formats used by Channel 4's Quiz Call, ITV Play and quizzes on shows such as This Morning and Richard and Judy require any skill or if, like a lottery, they are a game of chance.
If such games are classed as lotteries, they will have to be regulated and 20% of revenue must go to charitable causes.
Should ITV Play quizzes fall into the "chance" category, a reduction of one-fifth in revenues would severely damage both the bottom line and the long-term business model ITV has drawn up for developing significant revenues from non-advertising sources.
"The new laws have ambiguities and need testing so it is not clear if participation TV services are captured [under the regulations of the gambling act]," said Paul Whiteing, a director at ICSTIS, the regulatory body for all premium-rate charged telecommunications services.
"All of the participation TV services have come to us and all have taken extensive legal advice. Still, the situation is unclear and there may end up being test cases," he added.
Tom Kavanagh, deputy chief executive at the Gambling Commission, said: "Existing law is grey".
He added that TV quizzes fall into a category of "complex" lotteries.
There are four criteria for determining this, the most contentious being that the "first process" in playing any quiz - answering the question - is based wholly on chance.
However, TV quiz companies are likely to argue that they will fall under the category of free draws, not requiring a licence.
To do this, the quizzes will have to display a choice of routes to play - both paid and free. The free route, possibly through a website entry process, has to be as convenient as the premium-rate phone-in method and "publicised so it comes to the attention of all participants", said Mr Kavanagh.
"All participation TV seems to fit under the complex lottery scenario. The question is, whether they can save themselves by qualifying as a free draw," Mr Kavanagh added.
"Is online entry as easy as phone-in? [Broadcasters] argue that questions such as, 'Is the capital of England London or Timbuktu?' need skill. However, in the future, the new act will only deem a game as having a significant skill element if the question prevents a significant proportion of people who wish to participate from doing so," he said.
Again, making questions harder could well hit the bottom line of participation TV services.
ITV Play, which ITV claims could bring in revenues of up to £20m in its first year of operation, is just one example of a quiz-based channel format that the TV industry as a whole is keen to embrace to offset falling ad income.
Gerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of Channel Five's owner, RTL, has said the company aims ultimately to draw 25% of its revenue outside of selling airtime to advertisers through initiatives including quiz games.
In all, there are more than a dozen UK channels on satellite and cable that offer TV quiz formats.
The public consultation period will close at the end of October.
Mark Sweney
Friday August 4, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk
The Gambling Commission has opened a public consultation questioning the legality of many prize draws and competitions, a process that could threaten the business models of "participation TV" operations such as ITV's digital channel, ITV Play.
The consultation has been prompted by changes in UK gambling industry laws that will come into force late next year.
It will consider whether the simple questions used in various televised quizzes - that generate money from consumers calling premium-rate phone lines - are a form of gambling.
The consultation will look at whether the question formats used by Channel 4's Quiz Call, ITV Play and quizzes on shows such as This Morning and Richard and Judy require any skill or if, like a lottery, they are a game of chance.
If such games are classed as lotteries, they will have to be regulated and 20% of revenue must go to charitable causes.
Should ITV Play quizzes fall into the "chance" category, a reduction of one-fifth in revenues would severely damage both the bottom line and the long-term business model ITV has drawn up for developing significant revenues from non-advertising sources.
"The new laws have ambiguities and need testing so it is not clear if participation TV services are captured [under the regulations of the gambling act]," said Paul Whiteing, a director at ICSTIS, the regulatory body for all premium-rate charged telecommunications services.
"All of the participation TV services have come to us and all have taken extensive legal advice. Still, the situation is unclear and there may end up being test cases," he added.
Tom Kavanagh, deputy chief executive at the Gambling Commission, said: "Existing law is grey".
He added that TV quizzes fall into a category of "complex" lotteries.
There are four criteria for determining this, the most contentious being that the "first process" in playing any quiz - answering the question - is based wholly on chance.
However, TV quiz companies are likely to argue that they will fall under the category of free draws, not requiring a licence.
To do this, the quizzes will have to display a choice of routes to play - both paid and free. The free route, possibly through a website entry process, has to be as convenient as the premium-rate phone-in method and "publicised so it comes to the attention of all participants", said Mr Kavanagh.
"All participation TV seems to fit under the complex lottery scenario. The question is, whether they can save themselves by qualifying as a free draw," Mr Kavanagh added.
"Is online entry as easy as phone-in? [Broadcasters] argue that questions such as, 'Is the capital of England London or Timbuktu?' need skill. However, in the future, the new act will only deem a game as having a significant skill element if the question prevents a significant proportion of people who wish to participate from doing so," he said.
Again, making questions harder could well hit the bottom line of participation TV services.
ITV Play, which ITV claims could bring in revenues of up to £20m in its first year of operation, is just one example of a quiz-based channel format that the TV industry as a whole is keen to embrace to offset falling ad income.
Gerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of Channel Five's owner, RTL, has said the company aims ultimately to draw 25% of its revenue outside of selling airtime to advertisers through initiatives including quiz games.
In all, there are more than a dozen UK channels on satellite and cable that offer TV quiz formats.
The public consultation period will close at the end of October.
Should be interesting to see the results of the public consultation, as some of the quizs barely require any skill.