Today, the BBC was fined a total of £95,000 by Ofcom for broadcasting radio quizzes that listeners could not win. The fine covers 13 quizzes between 2005 and 2006, including 8 from Dermot O’Leary’s Radio 2 show and 5 competitions broadcast on Tony Blackburn’s BBC radio London shows.
The media watchdog Ofcom found that all of the shows had been pre-recorded, so there was no way that listeners could take part in them. The Ofcom report stated that a full apology should be broadcast by BBC Radio 2 at a time to be decided by the watchdog.
The BBC has accepted the fine, saying that Mr O’Leary’s show was pre-recorded on certain occasions due to “the presenter’s other work commitments”, and stated that the competition winners were selected via the programs website or newsletters.
BBC Radio 2 will be fined £70,000 and BBC Radio London will be fined £25,000; both stations will have to broadcast apologies at a time deemed by Ofcom.
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