BBC Unveils New Regulations for Call-In Competitions

LONDON, January 2: Phone-in competitions are due to return
to the BBC after being suspended last summer, with the public broadcaster this
week unveiling a new set of regulations, including capping the price of calls
to BBC programs at 15 pence.

The only exception to this will be in programs directly
related to a charity appeal, such as Comic Relief, BBC Children in Need or
Restoration. Announcing the new
rule, the BBC’s director-general, Mark Thompson, said: “BBC programs do not
make money from premium rate calls and we’ve always told viewers and listeners
the costs of calling to enter competitions or to vote. But I want this to be
even clearer. In future, audiences can be clear that these calls will be capped
at 15 pence unless they are directly related to a charity appeal. I do
understand that this will mean that slightly less money will go to the
charities as a result of the new policy, but we’re already talking to them
about other ways of supporting their work.”

The new policy is part of a range of measures the BBC is
taking to resume phone-in competitions following last summer’s scandals that
impacted all of the U.K.’s free-TV broadcasters. The BBC landed in hot water
after news emerged of botched call-ins on the flagship kids’ series Blue
Peter. The BBC was fined £50,000 by Ofcom
and a subsequent internal review revealed further discrepancies on BBC One’s Comic
Relief and Sport Relief and BBC Two/CBBC’s TMi.

A new Code of Conduct has been unveiled and a mandatory
training course, Safeguarding Trust, put in place. About 45 percent of
applicable BBC staff—some 7,200 people—have already attended the
session. All staff involved in the running of a competition must have attended
the BBC’s Safeguarding Trust training and the additional training this program
offers in running competitions and voting. There will be also be a reduction in
the number of competitions to be held on BBC programs, and any proposed
competition must have very senior level prior approval. The competition must be
supervised by an appropriate editorial figure, and this arrangement must be
approved in advance.

“The public pay for the BBC, indeed they own the BBC, and
quite rightly they have higher expectations of us than of any other broadcaster,”
Thompson said. “Trust in our integrity, our determination to deal fairly and
honestly with our audiences, is the most precious thing the BBC possesses. The
BBC has followed a policy of confronting problems, disclosing everything and
giving the public a clear explanation of what we are doing to get things right.
Early indications are that our audiences approve of what we’ve done. After an
understandable dip, our ratings for trust are recovering.”

This month will see a limited number of competitions return
to the BBC in a phased manner, beginning with “Goal Of The Month” on Match
Of The Day on BBC One and “Pop Master” on
the Ken Bruce show on BBC Radio 2.

—By Mansha Daswani