It is no secret that these TV competitions are a very lucrative source of funding for their operators. They use a number of relatively simple but effective tricks to ensure their success.
The first is the apparent simplicity of the task. For example, they are asked to create an animal from the given letters. It\’s simple, and you see a number of animals there. The money is yours. However, at the end of the program, you realize that no one has answered the question correctly. The presenter, who keeps telling you it is easy, takes the correct answer out of the envelope. It was an obscure animal that almost no one had ever heard of, except for erudite zoologists.
Another trick is to keep the caller waiting. While the presenter in the studio is literally on his knees begging you to call him, the receiver machine keeps telling you that you have to wait because some people called before you did. How does this benefit the companies that run these games? It\’s simple. The lines for these competitions cost about 90 kronor per minute. Most of this money just goes into the pockets of these companies. So, for example, if you keep a customer waiting for 20 minutes, you make a profit of 1,800 yen. It should be added that if you subscribe to an unlimited rate plan, calls to these lines are not counted and are paid in advance. This could result in a very high bill at the end of the month.
Finally, there is a moderator. Moderators often pretend to do whatever they can for callers. For example, they may try to increase the value of a prize or give “tips. Of course, this is all just acting according to a predetermined script.
Another popular practice is to transfer more calls to the studio towards the end of the contest. This adds a sense of urgency, and those who see a wrong answer written down may think they have a better chance of guessing the correct answer. A related issue is to extend the time of the contest. Of course, without informing the audience. They see that the timer is almost over and try to make a last-minute call.
Of course, it is obvious that such contests are devised in such a way that the audience has little chance of winning. And in the unlikely event that someone does win, the amount paid will not ruin the producer. The target audience is, of course, pensioners and the less educated. They are easy to fall for this kind of trick and will keep calling for 40 minutes or more until they are transferred to the studio. Unfortunately, children often call as well. There is a warning on the screen that only people over the age of 15 can make the call, but that usually doesn\’t stop them.
TV fortune tellers and jewelry auctions work on a similar principle. These, too, are scams designed to make as much money as possible from people.
It is best to avoid such contests at all costs and, above all, not to call. Even if you win, you will not be left with much money after deducting the prize money and taxes on the phone bill. It might even go into the red. And it is definitely not worth it.
