CHANNEL 4 - MORE REVELATIONS ABOUT BRITISH BROADCAST SCAM

In what is fast becoming a scandal involving virtually all of Britain's major broadcasters, London newspapers today (Friday) revealed new allegations that programs featuring competitions in which viewers pay a telephone fee to vote on the outcome have been rigged. Alistair Graham, head of ICSTIS, which regulates premium-rate telephone lines in the U.K., accused some TV producers of engaging in "semi-fraudulent behavior" and confirmed that ICSTIS was currently looking into allegations of fraud affecting ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and the BBC. "If we have any evidence in which we believe there is a possibility that a criminal offense has been committed, we have very close links with the City of London police and I can assure you that we will refer such evidence to them to investigate." Meanwhile, the producer of the quiz show Brainteaser apologized Thursday after disclosures that the Channel 5 program ran bogus contests on at least five occasions and said that viewers who paid $1.50 to phone the program would receive refunds. The program is produced by the seemingly suitably named Cheetah television, a division of Endemol, producers of Big Brother. (NOTE: In Thursday's edition we incorrectly noted that Big Brother airs in the U.K. on Channel 5; it airs on Channel 4.)

09/03/2007