have you ever seen the one where it says "add the numbers up" and the sum is something like:
six+4=
2x10=
2--five=
you pressume the answer will be 37 but people are ringing in and saying stuff like "is it thirty million two hundred and fourteen?"
they must be making a packet cus the prizes appear rather large, almost tempting when you get back from a night out and theyre waving thousands of pounds in your face if you can think of a word associated with the word "stop".
More to the point they take up two whole terrestrial channels at 2 am, utter disgrace!
...it's the TV people ought to be worried about.
On Freeview there are currently two 24/7 "Quiz" channels, and at least three other channels that show "Quiz" shows in the wee hours (plus ITV duplicate their channel on ITV1 though the night for anyone without Freeview). Add to this phone in competitions on various programs, and you have a gambler's paradise. No doubt cable and satellite are worse, having more channels.
I've only watched them a few times (though I've never played them) and have noticed a few things. Despite trying to appear ethical they have blatantly targeted children. On one channel, someone who was obviously a kid phoned in, and the host asked them if they were over 18, and the kid said "yes" in a squeaky voice, and they were allowed to continue. Another show encouraged people to phone in quick so you don't stay up late and miss school in the morning (and I'm guessing they weren't talking about teachers). (A few years back someone I know's kids racked up a huge phone bill by calling in to competitions on the Saturday kids programs, without their parents' permission. It was hundreds of pounds, and they are not exactly rolling in money.)
The host on one I watched last night talked about how if you are on a "minimum wage" (her words) you should phone in because you could win more than you could earn in a week. But don't worry if you don't get through, you can phone in "as many times as you like!" For 75p a call! More for mobiles. (The phone in competition on Deal or No Deal encourages people to phone in up to 30 times.)
Also, they seem to be somewhat rigged. The host's job seems to be to stall for as long as possible, to rack up enough money to pay for the prize. Last night one question ran for over half an hour (and I switched in part way through, so I don't know how long it ran before that, and I switched off before it finished), and put about a dozen people though on air in the time I was watching. 12*0.75 =/= £250.
They are clearly targetting vulnerable people: kids ("don't want to be late for school"), low paid workers ("minimum wage"), the unemployed (who the fuck watches TV at 4am on a weekday?), and gamblers ("phone in as many times as you like").
People keep saying that TV is as bad as it used to be, people just don't remember the shit. But it's now getting to the level of complete bollocks. See if you can solve this puzzle on ITV Play last night for £5000 (+ £1000 for a friend) that was on air for over 10 minutes...
Anyone? "I'll give you as clue: it's got three letters. Think of an animal with three letters. If you don't know what it is just phone in and have a guess..."
[/rant]