When Jordin Sparks was crowned the winner of the sixth season of “American Idol” last week, Edward “Bod” Boddington, chairman and founder of Telescope, was one of the first and last people to know the result before it was announced on air to the rest of the world.
Boddington’s participation media company tallied a record vote total of 609 million votes via SMS and toll-free telephone calls throughout the season and 74 million votes for the finale episode, breaking all previous records set by the show. Last season the company recorded nearly 580 million votes.
Telescope has been with Fox’s hit show since day one,
managing the voting component of the show. The company, which was founded in the United Kingdom in 1998, has handled more than 100 interactive TV events, including “America’s Got Talent,” “American Inventor,” “Rockstar,” “So You Think You Can Dance?” and many more.
TV ratings drop, votes rise
In all, Telescope tallied more than 1 billion votes last year from SMS, fixed line and the Internet.
As TV ratings decline across the board, including the “American Idol,” Telescope is seeing no correlation with the amount of votes they’re receiving from fans. Votes continue to climb and break records year-over-year.
Critics routinely lob charges of vote-rigging and flawed vote counting at participation TV shows, and Boddington and CEO Troy Sample know that comes with the territory.
“There are going to be mistakes because nothing is ever perfect,” Boddington said, adding reference to flawed voting even in American presidential elections.
Earlier this season an error caused the wrong number to be put on the screen and “American Idol” producers informed fans of the mistake and re-broadcast the episode, Sample said, offering an example of the transparency Telescope and its clients strive for.
“Transparency, honesty with the viewer is absolutely critical,” Boddington said. “We’re in favor of having an independent regulatory body.”
Operators already have their own policing procedures in place, Boddington said, but “the operators are sometimes going to be overprotective.”
Sample added that Telescope is essentially the referee in these participation TV competitions. “I don’t make the calls,” he said. “I just count the votes.”
Nonetheless, Telescope and many other players in participation TV are pushing for systematic, industrywide guidelines.
Boddington, who sits on the board of Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas, says “there is an attempt to really galvanize the industry and implement best practices procedures.” Having already experienced the massive growth of interactive TV shows in the United Kingdom, Boddington is keen to avoid having the U.S. market fall into some of the traps European programs have experienced. Numerous issues such as failing to handle the volume of votes and selecting winners of sweepstakes before competitions have closed have led the industry to fall into “disrepute” in Europe, he said.
On the heels of the “American Idol” finale, MEF published a draft “Code of Practice” that outlines the best practices for participation television in the United States. The document calls for structured and auditable processes that make responsibility and accounting transparent throughout the sweepstakes or competition. It also charges companies with creating an action plan to address errors when they arise.
Participation TV represents a $300 million market in the United Kingdom, whereas it’s in a much earlier stage of development here in the United States, MEF said.
“In the United Kingdom, the participation TV industry is overseen by ICSTIS, the regulatory body for premium rate services,” Boddington said. “Without a similar body in the United States, MEF is taking action to create a framework to ensure the best experience for users.”
The regulatory body is currently investigating no less than six British shows that have been shaken by numerous allegations by fans. Callers argue that they’ve been misled on numerous phone-in votes and competitions.
Follow the money
And there is plenty of money at stake. Premium rate services, such as the 99-cent per text-message fees that carriers charge for voting on competitions like “American Idol,” account for a $1 billion market in the U.K., whereas the U.S. market is only $300 million to $400 million, he said.
Interestingly, Boddington doesn’t rail against the higher payouts carriers charge on premium SMS services in the United States.
“It’s a good defensive mechanism that it’s not going to result in a gold rush here,” he said, adding that he’s more interested in gaining long-term trust with audiences and networks.
“In Europe, the payout is much higher from the carriers” because of the stiffer competition from fixed-line and wireless carriers, he explained.
Carriers typically retain an average of 50% of those 99-cent charges in the States, while their European counterparts typically payout 70% to 80% of their revenue from the service, Boddington said. AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless retain less, closer to 40%.
“Mobile voting is now a core part of the program,” he said. “And the U.S. has only recently come to the table in terms of participation media.
“The real risk takers are the ones that are going to get the biggest reward,” Boddington added.
Telescope predicts that only 6% of the U.S. adult population has entered a premium pay-for-participation campaign, while the number’s closer to 30% in the United Kingdom.
“We’re on the on-ramp now, America is, and it’s going to grow rapidly,” Sample said.
“We envision the premium part of our business will be no more than 20% to 30%,” Boddington said.
