CHANNEL 4 was yesterday hit with a £1MILLION fine for the You Say We Pay rip-off on Richard and
Judy.
And telly watchdog Ofcom slapped an extra £500,000 fine on the channel for misleading viewers on Noel Edmonds’s hit Deal Or No Deal.
TV chiefs last night announced they will hand over £600,000 to charity — meaning they will pay out a whopping £2.1million.
Channel 4 was also ordered to broadcast the watchdog’s rulings three times.
Ofcom blasted the channel for “widespread and systematic deception” on the premium-rate quizzes — axed in August.
It said the dodgy contests pulled in £25.24million for Channel 4.
On the You Say We Pay quiz, phone lines — which cost around £1 — closed just after 5.35pm.
But a shortlist of finalists was drawn up at around 5.20pm while viewers were still being asked to ring in.
Ofcom said: “Viewers who called on the basis that they had a fair and equal chance of winning in fact had no chance.”
It said the con stretched over 975 episodes, going back to November 26, 2001.
The watchdog accepted Channel 4 did not mean to mislead — but said the case showed a “substantial breakdown in the fundamental relationship of trust” with viewers
X Factor Probe
Judy.And telly watchdog Ofcom slapped an extra £500,000 fine on the channel for misleading viewers on Noel Edmonds’s hit Deal Or No Deal.
TV chiefs last night announced they will hand over £600,000 to charity — meaning they will pay out a whopping £2.1million.
Channel 4 was also ordered to broadcast the watchdog’s rulings three times.
Ofcom blasted the channel for “widespread and systematic deception” on the premium-rate quizzes — axed in August.
It said the dodgy contests pulled in £25.24million for Channel 4.
On the You Say We Pay quiz, phone lines — which cost around £1 — closed just after 5.35pm.
But a shortlist of finalists was drawn up at around 5.20pm while viewers were still being asked to ring in.
Ofcom said: “Viewers who called on the basis that they had a fair and equal chance of winning in fact had no chance.”
It said the con stretched over 975 episodes, going back to November 26, 2001.
The watchdog accepted Channel 4 did not mean to mislead — but said the case showed a “substantial breakdown in the fundamental relationship of trust” with viewers
X Factor Probe
ITV bosses were rocked last night after Ofcom demanded all their information on 
the disputed X Factor final voting.
Thousands of complaints were made about the phone vote system after hot favourite Rhydian Roberts was beaten by outsider Leon Jackson on Saturday.
Viewers and many Sun readers claim the phone poll was a fix. More than 2,400 angry fans complained to the TV watchdog about the vote and demanded an inquiry.
They claim that when they tried to vote for Rhydian they constantly got an engaged tone.
The Sun’s own poll showed Rhydian, 25, was the runaway winner with 14,982 votes while Leon, 18, scooped only 5,535.
Yesterday gutted Rhydian broke his silence and blamed his defeat on a technical fault.
He said: “It’s obvious there was a technical fault on the night, and it might have affected all three competitors. I was disappointed. I shed a tear.” ITV say Scot Leon won fair and square.
Ofcom’s demand for information was revealed in a letter to Culture Secretary James Purnell.
It said it had also asked ITV for the full findings of its Deloitte report into problems with participation-TV on programmes such as Saturday Night Takeaway.
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards wrote: “The Deloitte review publicly identified seven programmes or series where failures occurred (Soapstar Superstar, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Ant and Dec’s Gameshow Marathon, I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, X Factor, Dancing On Ice and The British Comedy Awards).
In Other News
the disputed X Factor final voting.Thousands of complaints were made about the phone vote system after hot favourite Rhydian Roberts was beaten by outsider Leon Jackson on Saturday.
Viewers and many Sun readers claim the phone poll was a fix. More than 2,400 angry fans complained to the TV watchdog about the vote and demanded an inquiry.
They claim that when they tried to vote for Rhydian they constantly got an engaged tone.
The Sun’s own poll showed Rhydian, 25, was the runaway winner with 14,982 votes while Leon, 18, scooped only 5,535.
Yesterday gutted Rhydian broke his silence and blamed his defeat on a technical fault.
He said: “It’s obvious there was a technical fault on the night, and it might have affected all three competitors. I was disappointed. I shed a tear.” ITV say Scot Leon won fair and square.
Ofcom’s demand for information was revealed in a letter to Culture Secretary James Purnell.
It said it had also asked ITV for the full findings of its Deloitte report into problems with participation-TV on programmes such as Saturday Night Takeaway.
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards wrote: “The Deloitte review publicly identified seven programmes or series where failures occurred (Soapstar Superstar, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Ant and Dec’s Gameshow Marathon, I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, X Factor, Dancing On Ice and The British Comedy Awards).
In Other News
Bryan Adams has invite troubled singer Amy Winehouse to his Caribbean villa for Christmas, in order to help her clean up her act.
It now seems that not only is Lily Allen pregnant with Chemical Brother’s Ed Simons baby, but the pair have also decided to get engaged.
Stand up comedian Jimmy Carr has been signed up to feature on Channel 4’s Big Brother Hijacked next month.
Apparently myths of reading in dim light damaging your eyesight have been rubbished by doctors, along with the myth that fingernails and hair still grow after death.
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