Ofcom Hits ITV With Record Fine

Ofcom have fined ITV £5.67 million for breaching codes of conduct in relation to viewer phone-ins.
The record fine follows an investigation by the regulator into the broadcaster's most popular shows.
Ofcom said in a statement: "Ofcom has informed ITV plc this morning that it is imposing a fine totalling £5,675,000 for some of the most serious breaches of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code concerning the abuse of premium rate services (PRS) in its programming."
"The fine, which is by far the highest imposed by Ofcom or any of the previous regulators, reflects not only the seriousness of ITV's failures but also their repeated nature."
ITV has pledged an additional £7.8m for viewer compensation and to charity.
Ofcom's investigation studied information voluntarily supplied by ITV from its review by Deloitte and material obtained by Ofcom in its own investigations.
Among the programmes found in breach of codes were Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Soapstar Superstar.
In addition I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! And People's Court were found to be in breach of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code but no sanctions were imposed.
Ofcom also imposed £2m on GMTV in September last year.
The regulator is currently investigating breaches in the British Comedy Awards (2004 and 2005) broadcast on ITV, The Secret Sound competition broadcast on a number of GCap radio stations and a number of BBC radio and television programmes. Results will be published in the coming weeks.
Ofcom, established in 2002, is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
(DS)