ITV admits running contests on Good Morning Britain, Loose Women, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and other top shows that more than 40,000 postal entrants were given no chance to win
- Around 40,00 postal entrants excluded from the draw for ITV competitions
- Ofcom found that that some had no chance of winning between 2016 and 2019
- ITV said problem caused human error when staff put data on the spreadsheet
ITV has been found in breach of broadcasting rules after people who entered several of its competitions by post were given ‘no chance of winning’, the TV watchdog Ofcom has ruled.
An investigation was launched after problems with postal entries arose with competitions on Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, Loose Women, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, La Vuelta and X Factor: The Band.
In its findings, Ofcom found that that some 41,252 entered ITV competitions that they had no chance of winning between 2016 and 2019.
In ‘all cases, some viewers who participated using the postal entry route had no chance of being selected to win’, Ofcom said.
The TV watchdog will not be taking further action against ITV.
ITV has been found in breach of broadcasting rules after problems with postal entries arose with competitions for Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (pictured), Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, Loose Women, La Vuelta and X Factor: The Band
The TV watchdog found that some 41,252 entered ITV competitions that they had no chance of winning between 2016 and 2019. Pictured: A competition on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
An Ofcom spokesperson: ‘Our investigation found that some people who entered these competitions by post were excluded from the draw, with no chance of winning.
‘ITV failed to follow proper procedures and this led to a clear breach of our rules, which require all broadcast competitions to be conducted fairly.’
The broadcaster said the problem was a result of ‘human error by ITV staff’ putting information on to a spreadsheet.
The competitions, on ITV, ITV2 and ITV4, typically invite viewers to enter by phone, text message, ITV’s website or by post.
Phone, text message and online entries usually charge a premium rate, while those entering by post only pay the cost of a stamp.
ITV reviewed every broadcast competition it had conducted since 2014 after initially discovering the discrepancy.
It said it ‘deeply regretted’ the errors and that the number of affected competitions represented fewer than 1 per cent since 2014, when it introduced postal entries.
The problem was a result of ‘human error by ITV staff’ putting information on to a spreadsheet. Pictured: Jane Moore on ITV’s Loose Women
The competitions, on ITV, ITV2 and ITV4 (pictured is a competition on Loose Women) invite viewers to enter by phone, text message or by post
Ofcom said it recognised ‘the proactive way in which ITV dealt with the issue by notifying Ofcom and immediately setting about to determine the extent and cause of the problem’.
But it said the broadcaster ‘failed to take reasonable care through its processes to ensure the competitions were conducted in such ways as to provide fair and consistent treatment of all eligible entries’.
ITV said it has put in place plans to improve its postal entries procedures and it intended to donate a sum of money to charity as a ‘mark of its sincere regret’.
In 2008, Ofcom fined ITV £5.67 million for some of the most serious breaches of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code ‘concerning the abuse of premium rate services in its programming’.
MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.