BBC Fined £400,000 for Misleading Viewers during Participation TV Shows

Fall-out from the UK broadcasting industry's participation TV scandal continues: Ofcom, has fined the BBC a total of £400,000 for breaches of its Broadcasting Code. In a public statement explaining the fine, the regulatory body stated that it had "found the BBC in breach of Rule 2.11 of the Code ("Competitions should be conducted fairly...") for faking winners and misleading its audience" during the TV shows "Comic Relief" (BBC One, March 16th, 2007), "Sport Relief (BBC One, July 15th, 2006), "Children in Need" (BBC One Scotland, 18th November, 2005), and "Tmi" (BBC2 and CBBC, September 16th, 2006), as well as during a number of radio shows. "In each of these cases," the Ofcom statement continued, "the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly. The investigations found that in some cases, the production team had taken pre-mediated [sic] decisions to broadcast competitions and encourage listeners to enter in the full knowledge that the audience stood no chance of winning. In other cases, programs faced with technical problems made up the names of winners." Ofcom's statement did, however, point out that the BBC did not profit by misleading audiences about its participation TV services.

The BBC has issued a statement responding to Ofcom's findings: "We accept Ofcom's findings," the statement read. "We have taken these issues extremely seriously from the outset, apologizing to our audiences and putting in place an unprecedented action plan to tackle the issues raised. This includes a comprehensive program of training for over 19,000 staff, rigorous new technical protections, new guidance to program-makers on the running of competitions and a strict new Code of Conduct. Ofcom has recognized that neither the BBC nor any member of staff made any money from these serious editorial lapses. Whilst we must never be complacent and must remain constantly vigilant, audience research suggests the comprehensive action we have taken is rebuilding the trust of viewers and listeners."