Most of the broadcast work these days are Phone-ins, they usually fall into two categories, either 3 to 4 callers talking to the presenter and guests for one segment of the show or a whole show dedicated to viewer interaction.

Most of the shows are done from the GTS office/studio in Watford. In the past sound quality was better if callers were switched in the studio, these days we use ISDN links into studios and the sound quality is as good as if we were in the studio.

A recent addition to the Watford office/studio is a telephone switch that can answer incoming calls for these kinds of shows. It is not designed or intended to handle large scale competitions where you'd expect to get thousands of callers. It's being used daily to take incoming calls from around the world for "Fanzone" (Premier League Productions) and twice a week for "You're On Sky Sports" for callers wanting to have their say. I can supply you with 0800, 0845, 0844 & 0207/8 London numbers depending on the tariff you'd like to use. None of these numbers need special permission or to give any cost information on screen.

Competitions

Over the years I've done hundreds of competitions, my favourite was probably Wonkey Donkey. Premium rate competitions with callers going on air, have changed a lot over the last few years. In the past we were always asked to get good fun chatty callers, however we can't vet callers any more. These days we can only refuse to put a caller on if they are drunk or abusive. Luckily most of the general public seem do be very nice and polite but it does worry me that with competitions, we have no control over who we put on air.

Other things of interest

Here's a list of shows I've worked on over the years Clients & Shows. I also built a DTMF UNIT a while back that's worth looking at, it's used to trigger all kinds of things (Lights, Grams etc) from the callers phone.

In studio or remote?

I've worked in The London Studios, Teddington, Maidstone, Riverside, Manchester, Nottingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, Elstree and BBC Television Centre. I've also worked in OB trucks up and down the country for Living TV.

• It's easier to liaise with sound and the production team when in studio but via talkback is ok for most applications.
• Using the Watford Studio we can have up to 8 callers on hold ready to go on air. No need for you to get lots of lines installed.
• When working remotely, I set up and test links with MCR and sound one hour before each show.
• A scalable team of highly experienced operators can be supplied to meet the needs of the show.
• When in your studio, all equipment is provided, rigged and tested, before the show.
• I liaise with the studio managers and sound to avoid problems.