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GMTV sees its pips squeezed

Posted in General September 26th, 2007 by Branwell Johnson

Ouch, that’s got to hurt, a £2 million fine for GMTV from Ofcom due to phone line abuse must be a punch in the solar plexus. The beleaguered broadcaster also received a £250,000 fine from ICSTIS earlier and is also in the process of allocating large sums to pacifying free draws and a charity contribution of £250,000.

Looks like Ofcom is really making an example of GMTV and baring its teeth to other broadcasters. The message is “don’t even think about it” when it comes to any tomfoolery with interactive quizzes. Although many programming scandals have now been named and shamed, apparently there are more still to come to light and some executives must be quaking in their boots.

A large fine was anticipated and Ofcom is still looking at other programmes on a case-by-case basis so I would expect confidence and morale within the terrestrial broadcasters to be at a low.

To add to the woes ITV has already signalled that there won’t be any increase in investment in programming for ITV1 next year and the BBC is in self-flagellation mode after not naming a cat Cookie. What are they going to do to lift spirits?

Let’s see if anyone is bold enough to still have a wing-ding of a Christmas party or if the broadcasters feel that the temperature is not right for such a profligate use of revenue.

To read the news story related to this blog, go to mad.co.uk