Channel 4 have announced today that it will not be making any donations to charity from phone voting revenues this year.
The ongoing recession has been blamed for the decision, as a slump in advertising revenues has forced the broadcaster to make a number of cuts, a notable one being the axing of the 24-hour red button live feed.
They revealed that the phone voting service has been causing them to lose money recently and that it was no longer possible for them to subsidise it.
A Channel 4 spokesman told MediaGuardian: “The costs associated with running the Big Brother vote line have meant it has run at a considerable loss for the last couple of years.
“Given the current climate, after very careful consideration, Channel 4 has regretfully decided not to make charity donations for this series of Big Brother in order to limit this loss and ensure we are managing our finances optimally to allow us to continue delivering our public service remit.”
He added that the voting was run “purely on a for-profit basis” before 2006, and that Channel 4 is only one of a number of commercial broadcasters not to profit from premium rate services.
Previously, 10p per call was donated to a number of chosen charities. The cost of a vote remains at 35p.
Phone voting raised £300,000 for charity in the ninth series of Big Brother last year.
Stick with bbspy!
it shud b put towards v live feed defo