Broadcasters aim to restore voting trust

Most of the UK's public service broadcasters are to form a coalition designed to restore trust in participation TV activities such as phone and text voting.

The Broadcast Interactive Forum, made up of the BBC, ITV, Five and GMTV, will agree a common interpretation of rules about how premium rate services operate laid down by Ofcom and PhonepayPlus and ensure a common voting experience across all output.

Ann Cook, ITV's partnership director and controller of interactive, told New Media Age that the forum will "share knowledge and best practice so we speak to the regulators with one voice".

Text message voting services, which are particularly sensitive to timing and reliability concerns, are only just beginning to be reintroduced to the premium rate service portfolio on some broadcasters' output.