ONE of Britain’s biggest premium rate television quiz channels has been accused of “naked profiteering” after admitting manipulating games by blocking callers from taking part for periods of up to 40 minutes.

Quiz Call, owned by Channel 4, said that on these occasions, it charged thousands of callers a standard 75p premium line fee — knowing that it would give them no chance to answer the prize question.

Its disclosure follows a surge of complaints about sharp practice by interactive quiz channels, as Ofcom, the media watchdog, prepares for tougher regulation.

Another channel, Big Game TV, is being investigated by police for alleged fraud, while Gordon Brown, the chancellor, is examining whether the stations are actually lotteries masquerading as games of skill. This would make them liable for a 20% charitable levy.

Brown is said to be concerned that the shows are exploitative. Ben Appleby, a 24-year-old chef from Kibworth, Leicestershire, racked up a £125 bill one night in June. “The question was easy and people kept getting it wrong, so I thought I stood a good chance and kept calling. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the bill,” he said.

The Sunday Times has been approached by a number of executives and staff working in the sector, worried by the shortcuts that have helped 13 channels generate annual revenues estimated at about £160m.

Three sources close to Quiz Call alleged producers manipulated the callers to maximise the number of people being charged the 75p connection fee.

According to one source, producers watch graphs monitoring the number of calls coming in. So long as the incoming calls are high, they are not put through to the quizmaster, to prolong the game, boosting phone revenues.

“If there are thousands and thousands of [callers] over 10, 20, 30 minutes, then you’re not going to take a call,” the source explained. “As soon as it dips then you do [take a call].”

The show uses a variety of ploys to entice viewers to call in. One source who recently worked on Quiz Call said: “They will change the music, focus on close-ups of money, close-ups of the phone; they will go for 30-40 seconds without anything being said, with sound effects like a heartbeat or submarine sonar to build up tension.

“It’s a very sophisticated operation, and the graphs show that these techniques work. The calls shoot up. But those people who call in the first hour or so stand no chance of winning the money, even though the presenter and graphics have told them that they do.”

Most callers hear an automated message telling them they have failed to get through to the studio, and are disconnected. A small number are put on hold and told they could be put through — before, in turn, being cut off.

Channel 4 confirmed that in some cases, involving shows with large prizes — it once offered a £100,000 jackpot — calls might take a “maximum” of 40 minutes to be put through. It said the show’s producer was responsible for deciding how long to wait, but insisted this was “not based on call volumes but on his or her assessment of how best to engage viewers with the game”.

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