Originally Posted by born2fly_au
The ones that really annoy me are the TV programs like Big Brother that ask you to vote for contestants at higher than normal phone rates. I think it is just a gimmick to rake in money.
No need to speculate. The revenue from the calls is an integral and vital part of the business model of these shows.
"Millionaire" started to falter, in business terms, for two reasons: Potential contestants got wise to the fact that they were being ripped off when they phoned in to try to get onto the show, so their numbers dropped off. And actual contestants got better at playing the game - not answering the questions, but playing the lifelines, so that average prize money paid out went up. And so the show went from being a money-spinner to one that asked the rest of ITV to sponsor it.