Play and win?

Interesting questions being asked by Ofcom in the UK about channels featuring contests which, some might claim, amount to little more than lotteries. Although raffles of all kinds, often with amazing prizes, are a big feature of life in the Emirates we have not implemented the competitions we have developed for our jukebox video channel MusicPlus.

Have we been taking the moral high ground about this? Or just dragging our feet?

This from the Guardian:

Ofcom is calling for submissions on its proposals to tighten regulations governing participation TV services, such as ITV Play.

Participation TV - which includes quiz and psychic shows and adult chat services that use premium-rate phone lines to make money from viewer participation - has come under fire recently for not being transparent in the way consumers are charged. The broadcasting regulator is calling for submissions on the proposed scope of the full consultation by the end of January.

Ofcom says it is embarking on the process in the context of "a changing media environment where the boundaries between programming and advertising are becoming increasingly blurred".

Ofcom is also seeking views on the broader issue of how - and by whom - the content of participation TV services should be regulated. It has to decide whether such programmes are editorial and therefore subject to the broadcasting code, or a form of advertising which should be overseen by the advertising watchdog the ASA.

As broadcasters look to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional advertising, participation TV formats are becoming increasingly popular and lucrative. ITV is aiming to make £20m from ITV Play in its first year of operation.

However, there is widespread criticism of the services. At a culture media and sport select committee inquiry last month, BSkyB called for the genre to be regulated under the Gambling Act. The gambling commission is carrying out a consultation, the results of which are due to be announced in February, on the same issue.

The nub of the argument is whether the questions used in televised quizzes are a form of gambling. If the games are deemed to require no skill - only chance - then it is argued that they should be regulated like a lottery.

The premium-rate phone regulator ICSTIS is also reviewing the way participation TV services charge consumers. More than a dozen UK channels on satellite and cable offer participation TV quiz formats.