• The Sunday Times, Monday, September 25, 2006 12 PM

The entry by Britain's ITV into the quiz show phone-in business threatens to undermine the future growth of the sector, according to a new study. The launch of ITV Play earlier this year has accelerated call TV "to a point where the market is in danger of burning out," according to Edison Investment Research. With so many similar channels offering similar programs, there has been a slump in call volume and associated revenue, says Fiona Orford-Williams, an Edison analyst. The problem is only exacerbated by the growing number of viewers who play the games for free over the Internet, as the channels are required to offer a form of free entry to avoid being classified as lotteries. Edison believes that the proportion of Internet players is now close to 50 percent of the total and as "as free Web-entry participants must be accorded an equal chance of being put through to the studio as those applying through the premium telephony route, the industry business model is being seriously undermined."

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