The BBC is in the news again - for all the wrong reasons. It seems that the winning contestant on some game shows has been decided well in advance and contrived either by way of being secretly slipped the answers to the questions asked - or where winning is by viewer phone-in - by deliberately fudging the numbers.
Game shows are all about entertainment - and show organizers can achieve better ratings results by grooming a chosen contestant to appeal to the public.
As a result, many people wonder about Australian media content.
Game shows and contests are big business, but if subjected to analytical scrutiny some surprising findings show out.
Take the shows that invite the public to pick up the phone and vote to either retain - or evict - a contestant. The small print tells you that a call or an SMS will cost a nominated sum - usually about 50 c. A normal local phone call costs between 15 c to 20 c, depending on the call plan you have with your supplier.
So - what happens to that extra charge to register your vote ? Presumably it goes to the show organizers - so it is not really free to air television. You - the viewer - are actually funding the show you are watching.
In the case of the BBC it seems that where a reward is promised to one of those phoning in the announced winner may be a complete fake. Lets face it ! Suppose the presumed winner is a person you have never heard of from a town in another state which you have never visited - how would you know whether that was true or false ?
The entertainment industry has suffered many revelations that soured public opinion. Remember the " cash for comment " fiasco where radio shock jocks were being paid to polish the image of companies they had previously derided ?
As a result, when those same stars made future commendations the cynical comment
was " I wonder how much they were paid to say that ? ".
Maybe a similar line of thinking will now apply to game shows !
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