The futureis interactive and very profitable

1
The futureis interactive and very profitable!
2
Quiz shows break free from TV!

• Technology is allowing quiz shows, like many
  other programmes, to become multi-platform.
• This means that they reach the audience via more
  than one media platform.
• A platform is a way of accessing the media.
  Platforms include
• Broadcasting (television and radio)
• E-media (the internet, podcasts)
• Print (magazines and newspapers)

3
You are the future!

• Task
• List the media hardware you have access to.
  (iPod, DVD player)
• For each item of hardware, note down what media
  products you access through this hardware (films,
  news)

4
Making money

• Television advertising revenues have fallen since
  the growth of many smaller channels.
• ITV, for example, revealed that advertising
  income had fallen by 50m to 1.5 billion in
  2006.
• Commercial broadcasters and media institutions,
  have tried to increase their revenues by turning
  to participation TV, more commonly known as
  call TV.

5
How much money?

• An hour of Call TV programming can cost less
  than 1,000. A show can get more than 20,000
  calls in 10 or 12 hours of broadcasting per day.
• At 1 a call, this means a show can make 20,000
  for 10,000 investment. Even after all the bills
  have been paid, there is still a good profit.
• Quiz TV made pre-tax profits of 2m on turnover
  of 3.6m, in 2004.

6
All part of the plan

• ITV has a consumer division to think of ways of
  raising income directly from its viewers, rather
  than from advertisers.
• As well as ITV Play, this unit developed
  episodes of popular soaps such as Coronation
  Street that can be screened on mobile phones, for
  a fee.
• Other firms are developing games that let many
  players play at the same time and that are
  available simultaneously on several platforms
  television, mobile phone and the internet.

7
Quizmania on ITV Play

• Quizmania makes an interesting case study in how
  quizzes use new media to their advantage.

• Quizmania was a call TV quiz show broadcast on
  ITV Play, via Freeview, BSkyB and cable TV.
• It was later cancelled as a result of the
  competition scandals.
• It has returned as an online quiz.

8
The viewer pays to play!

• The audience members who want to take part in
  quiz shows like Quizmania have to ring a
  premium-rate phone line. This usually costs
  between 60p and 1.50 a call. They are charged
  whether or not they make it onto the quiz.
• The broadcaster keeps most of the income from the
  calls, usually paying a third party for providing
  the interactive service.

9
Building tension, hooking the audience

• "Bubbly" presenters create a frantic, high-energy
  atmosphere.
• The questions are often very easy, giving the
  impression that the money is well within the
  viewer's grasp.
• The stakes are often high, with thousands of
  pounds available in prize money.
• There is no guarantee, however, that callers will
  get as far as speaking to the presenter, despite
  paying as much as 1.50 per minute to take part.

10
The set

• The Quizmania studio reflects the show's main
  colour theme, bright pink with elements of blue.

• There are two flat-screen TVs where the animated
  Quizmania logo is displayed for most of the show.
  When special events happen in the show (e.g.
  Double Money, Speed Round) large text is shown on
  the screen. The screen is also used to show video
  clips as part of some games.
• At various times the set has been redesigned to
  reflect different themes such as the summer, or
  Christmas.

11
Wheres the fun?

• Many of the audience enjoy a sense of community
  from the shows.
• They achieve this through being able to
  participate, to feel part of the show.
• They also like the small number of regular
  presenters. They can switch on and see familiar
  faces. They start to feel they know the
  presenters and have a relationship with them.

12
Making the audience feel involved

• Viewers can send in photos which are displayed in
  a large gold frame mounted on the wall the
  quizframia.
• There are also random props / items sent in by
  viewers displayed along the top of the bar.
• There are two picture frames on the wall, showing
  the "King and Queen of Quizmania".
• These all work to increase the viewers sense of
  community and belonging.
• This appeals to Blumler and Katz's Four Needs of
  personal relationships.

13
You can even get Flashed!

• Even the crew on Quizmania get involved and
  become part of the team. Viewers could feel they
  were really part of a group of fun friends.
• This is Flash (Ben Sawyer) a camera operator, who
  spent much of his on-air time in-vision. He also
  does some apparently hilarious impressions on
  the show.

14
Show me the money!

• Prizes on Quizmania usually range from 50 to
  25,000. The biggest prize to be won was 28,000
  on March 22, 2006. 100,000 was once available as
  a prize, but nobody won it.
• Quizmania earned ITV over 1.2 million during the
  first two weeks of transmission on ITV1.

15
Criticisms of call TV

• Its a lazy solution to the problem of raising
  money. Investing in better-quality programmes
  would lead to greater advertising revenue.
• Call TV relies on the foolishness of a small
  number of people who probably cant afford to
  waste money. The programmes just exist to make
  vulnerable people spend their money, with false
  hopes of jackpot prizes.
• Some callers dont realise that they will be
  charged even if they do not make it through to
  the game.
• Some quiz shows have been accused of having
  deliberately unclear questions to keep people
  ringing back.
• The cost of calling, and the fact that most
  callers wont get through, often isnt made clear
  enough.
• One of Quizmanias unluckiest players, "Tornado
  Tom", got through to the studio on 97 consecutive
  shows without a single win. He eventually broke
  his losing streak with a 75 win.

16
In defence of call TV

• No one makes people play it.
• It wouldnt be popular if people didnt enjoy it.
• Call TV shows are a natural extension of the old
  radio phone-in competitions.

17
What do you think?

• Discuss your own views of call TV. Is it
  acceptable? Should there be any restrictions?
  Why? Why not?

18
All change!

• In 2007 a number of competition phone-in scandals
  were investigated by Ofcom and the institutions
  found to be at fault and fined. For example
• Blue Peter was fined 50,000 after a child
  visiting the studio was asked to pose as a
  phone-in competition winner.
• GMTV was fined a record 2m after it was found
  that some callers to its premium rate
  competitions had no chance of winning.
• Around 11,500 text votes for ITV1's Dancing on
  Ice final were not processed properly because of
  a "technical problem" at the Vodafone network.
• The company behind Richard and Judy competition
  You Say, We Pay was fined 150,000 after viewers
  were urged to call a premium number after
  contestants had already been chosen.
• Five was fined 300,000 for faking winners on its
  Brainteaser quiz show.

19
And, also as a result of the 2007 phone-in
scandals

• ITV's phone-in quiz channel ITV Play was scrapped
  after some of its competition questions came
  under fire for being almost impossible to answer.
  
• Quizmania and other call TV programmes went off
  the air for over a year.

20
The end for call TV?

• This was certainly a blow for call TV, and it
  seemed for a while as if Quizmania and other
  similar shows would never be heard of again.
• However, Quizmania recently returned to its
  audience via a live streamed internet show.
• In this way, it avoids the strict regulations
  that surround broadcast programmes.

21
What Quizmania say about themselves, from QM.TV

• Back in the summer of 2005, on the outer reaches
  of the UK digital TV universe, the Quizmania
  phenomenon was born. 'The big QM' as it became
  known amongst a growing bunch of devotees, stood
  out amongst quizshows thanks to its unique blend
  of games, entertainment and outright chaos.
• By Christmas of that same year, Quizmania had
  graduated to ITV1 where it served up moments of
  slapstick and pure mayhem the likes of which had
  never been seen on terrestrial television. Just
  type Quizmania into Youtube and you'll see what
  we mean. For almost 18 months, a lovable bunch of
  presenters, production crew and stuffed animals
  became familiar friends to quizzers and
  insomniacs across the UK. Such was its success
  that local versions were produced in Australia,
  Poland, Columbia, France and Portugal.
• But all good things come to an end. On the 14th
  of January 2007, Quizmania bid farewell to its
  fans in the UK. To the people who produced it and
  those who watched every episode, Quizmania was
  not just a TV show. It was a place where people
  came to play, laugh and feel part of something.
• And that's why we're bringing it back. In a
  completely new and different way. As you've
  probably noticed by now, it's on your computer
  not your TV! There's no telephone number on
  screen. None of the questions are 'Girls names
  beginning with M'. And most important of all,
  everyone gets to play every game.
• We hope you like it! The QM team

22
Summary

• Broadcasters deliberately looked to raise money
  through new technologies, including Call TV.
• Call TV was very profitable, and phone-in quizzes
  were very common on all kinds of TV shows.
• Scandal erupted in 2007 and most phone-in
  competitions were dropped.
• Call TV was taken off the air.
• Call TV has returned, now as online quiz shows,
  avoiding the rules about TV programmes.

23
Question

• Outline the latest trends in TV Quiz Shows
  mentioning the use of technology, examples of
  recent changes in media platforms, ways of making
  money and how some TV Quiz shows have been linked
  to scandal and have been taken off the air. What
  is your opinion about these shows?