Five Suspends Premium-Rate Phone Services

LONDON, March 8: Five has suspended all of its programming
involving premium-rate telephone services after it learned from Endemol U.K. of
problems involving the daily quiz show Brainteaser.

The move comes a week after ITV pulled the plug on its
telephone and red-button interactive services following news that it had
overcharged users £200,000 for voting for The X Factor. Responding to recent public concerns, Five began
reviewing its premium rate services and wrote to all its production companies
and suppliers reminding them of their legal and regulatory obligations in this
area. The broadcaster was contacted yesterday evening by Cheetah Television, a
production subsidiary of Endemol U.K. and the producer of Brainteaser. Cheetah said that irregularities had been found
regarding the newly introduced, “Quickfire” element of the quiz where viewers
are given a set time, approximately five minutes, to solve a word jumble
puzzle. In five separate incidents, Cheetah Television, unable to find a caller
with the correct answer before the winner was due to be announced on air, put
fictional names on screen as “winners” and on one occasion a member of the
production team went on air as a “winning” contestant.

Five is currently ascertaining how many callers have been
affected on these five separate occasions and will be giving them a full refund
of the cost of the call.

“We are shocked and disappointed and wish to apologize
unreservedly to our viewers,” said the broadcaster’s chief executive, Jane
Lighting. “The production company involved has failed to meet the high
standards we demand of our suppliers. We have decided to suspend any output
which involves any premium rate services and to appoint an external auditor,
though we have found no evidence of any issues involving any programs other
than Brainteaser.”