ITV has been fined a record £5.68m by Ofcom for abusing premium rate phone services in viewer competitions.
Here is a summary of how the fine was broken down by the media regulator.
ANT AND DEC'S SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY
Fine: £3 million
Summary: Ofcom's investigation found three competitions on the show were in breach of its conduct:
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• Selecting competition finalists before the telephone lines were announced as closed.
• Staggering the selection of competition finalists which meant that viewers entering the competition did not have a fair and equal chance of winning.
• Selecting finalists on the basis of their suitability to be on television and where they lived - contrary to the broadcaster's own terms and conditions, which explicitly stated that entrants would be chosen randomly.
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• Selecting finalists for the competition based purely on where they lived - contrary to the broadcaster's own terms and conditions, which explicitly stated that entrants would be chosen randomly.
• Selecting winners on the basis of their suitability to be on screen, contrary to the broadcaster's own terms and conditions, which explicitly stated that entrants would be chosen randomly.
• On one occasion, an individual already known to the production team was placed on the shortlist of potential winners and went on to "win" the competition.
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• Selecting members of the studio audience from the competition entrants on the basis of their suitability to be on screen, contrary to the broadcaster's own terms and conditions, which explicitly stated that entrants would be chosen randomly.
ANT AND DEC'S GAMESHOW MARATHON
Fine: £1.2 million
Summary: Ofcom has directed LWT to broadcast a summary of its findings on two occasions on ITV1 relating to the following conduct:
• On six occasions in the Prize Mountain competition, winners were selected based on their suitability to be on screen. This was contrary to the broadcaster's own terms and conditions, which explicitly stated that entrants would be chosen randomly.
• Additionally, the licensee was unable to account for almost half of the competition entries.
SOAPSTAR SUPERSTAR
Fine: £1.2 million
Summary: Ofcom has directed LWT to broadcast a summary of its findings on two occasions on ITV1 relating to the following conduct:
ITV2+1:
Fine: £1.2 million
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