the great british quiz

[Chrysalis]

quiz show 75p a call, I think this is a con wonder what others think.

They do various cryptic quizzes which some have apperently lasted for months with no winner and every so often a low prize quiz comes which of course someone wins.

Things I notice which makes me wonder.

Often the same person gets through numerous times, someone even got through 3 times in a row, this is when there is a supposed cap of calls per caller of 100 times a month. That would put the odds on a law of averages of 33/1 assuming they didnt get through again the rest of the month. We used someone else's phone and called about 50 times in a row during a period where they were taking calls every few seconds and never once got put on hold.

Often people keep repeating answers already said sometimes right after the previous caller.

Often people say answers that are obviously wrong.

sometimes people get through that hang up but then mysteriously come back, whats that all about?

sorry but its all too weird.

the show is supposedbly regulated so I went to their website to see if previous answers to big money quizzes were listed but their wasnt, only winners.

[JediMaster]

I was a little Board Last Night, so I flicked over and saw The Great Big British Quiz on Sky...

Never heard of it before...... I saw the "Count the Red in the Text" gag.... I waited to see Answer..... 1 hr later (I did say I was Board) still no Answers... Some idiots saying 0 & 4.... Over & Over..... Then the Presenter doing a CREPE Poem for Sara

Anyone know the Puzzle? or Answer

[murfitUK]

I think all these shows are a rip-off. Although I hasten to add that I don't watch them (of course not!) I sometimes have Quizmania on in the background if I'm reading or something, simply so I can find something to get annoyed at.

For example, last night's QM was UK Sitcoms. One or two obvious answers like Porridge and Fresh Fields but the top answer was... Come Back Mrs Noah. Eh??

Naturally, I knew the answer straight away but I wasn't going to try to ring in and waste my money.

There have been others like this which, although may be genuine answers, and I'm in no way implying that they're cheating, you have to ask how many callers where likely to think of that.

Other have been Coffee.... with an answer of rust.

And my personal favourite .... something PAPER. Some answers were exam paper, evening paper etc but the top answer was...

wait for it...

...

banana paper. (It does exist but I had to google to find it.)

But what annoys me even more - is that loads of people actually phone up. Stop it. If nobody phoned then these programs wouldn't be on air. And ITV could use the time slots to show even more celebrity programmes. On second thoughts....

[ian@huth]

TV channels are getting less cash in these days from advertising so are having to look for other means of generating revenue. Premium rate phone call voting for shows like Big Brother and for entry to the many quizes and competitions is helping replace some of the lost advertising revenue.

Are the premium rate entry quizzes a con? Not at all, they spell out exactly what is on offer and rely on the many entrants who don't think things through before entering. I made just over £4k in a month last year from one of the quiz channels and didn't spend a penny on premium rate phone calls. All it took was a little brain power and research.

It makes you wonder how TV will progress in the UK in the coming years. Advertising revenue will be harder to earn with the number of channels that people will have available particularly when analogue goes and everyone has far more than the five terrestrial channels. Eventually most TV viewers will have PVR systems which they will use to skip through the ad breaks. Where will the cash come from to finance TV in the not too distant future?

[Jules]

Come on Ian share the info I could do with a little cash

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by ian@huth

TV channels are getting less cash in these days from advertising so are having to look for other means of generating revenue. Premium rate phone call voting for shows like Big Brother and for entry to the many quizes and competitions is helping replace some of the lost advertising revenue.

Are the premium rate entry quizzes a con? Not at all, they spell out exactly what is on offer and rely on the many entrants who don't think things through before entering. I made just over £4k in a month last year from one of the quiz channels and didn't spend a penny on premium rate phone calls. All it took was a little brain power and research.

It makes you wonder how TV will progress in the UK in the coming years. Advertising revenue will be harder to earn with the number of channels that people will have available particularly when analogue goes and everyone has far more than the five terrestrial channels. Eventually most TV viewers will have PVR systems which they will use to skip through the ad breaks. Where will the cash come from to finance TV in the not too distant future?

They are a con in the respect that they give the impression the lines are quiet and make it sound like when you dial you get through when its a lottery.

In fact it recently emerged that the call selection isnt random due to how the telephone exchanges are hooked up, this is outside of the quiz channels control but still isnt random and explains why their is so many repeat callers on them and other people can never get through for months on end.

I believe the future of tv will concentrate more on subscription and PPV, the unrest over the tv licence is increasing every year and I think this may lead to it been shared out over all the non subscription terrestrial channels.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by ian@huth

Are the premium rate entry quizzes a con? Not at all, they spell out exactly what is on offer and rely on the many entrants who don't think things through before entering. I made just over £4k in a month last year from one of the quiz channels and didn't spend a penny on premium rate phone calls. All it took was a little brain power and research.

I have to admit, I partially agree with you. They could take a lot more calls than they do. They could also automatically give a second guess for those who say something that has already been said (as a lot of radio competitions do).

However, they (well, on The Mint and Quizmania anyway) state their terms and conditions clearly, so if people don't read them, that's their own look out.