After allegations of irregularities in phone voting in 2005, ITV1 announced last week that it will not be broadcasting the 2007 British Comedy Awards.
Now, MediaGuardian is reporting that Channel 4 is poised to transmit the show, after BBC1 controller Peter Fincham turned down the programme rights.
ITV’s decision not to air this year’s awards stem from public phone votig for the People’s Choice awards. While the first half of the awards ceremony was broadcast live, after a break for the news the programme was transmitted on a delayed ‘as live’ basis. In July, The Sun alleged that people were still being asked to phone in to vote for the People’s Choice award even though the prize had already been presented to Ant and Dec.
While ITV declined to transmit this year’s awards during an investigation into the allegations, it’s understood that they want to show the awards from 2008 onwards. Last year’s ceremony was seen by 5 million viewers and a 23% share of the audience over the 90 minutes from 9pm.
