BBC fined £95,000 for "audience deception"

Venerable UK institution, the BBC, was fined £95,000 yesterday over fake phone-in competitions. The Corporation conducted "live" phone-in competitions in what were actually pre-recorded radio shows. This ensured that listeners had no chance of winning.

The Corporation has been fined £70,000 for eight editions of X Factor star Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 show between June and December 2006. It has also been revealed that friends of friends of the producers twice won the prize on offer.

The BBC has also been fined £25,000 for five editions of Tony Blackburn's show aired between December 2005 and December 2006 on BBC London.

An Office of Communications (Ofcom) statement lambasted executives who, it said, knew of the breaches by the middle of last year and yet thought them not serious enough to be dealt with immediately. Ofcom said: "It was a matter of significant concern that at the time of the 'trawls', the BBC considered the breaches to be of a 'less serious' nature than it now accepted."

The Office of Communications is an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.

Ofcom added: "The BBC invited listeners to enter the competitions in full knowledge the audience stood no chance of entering or winning."