Can Reality TV Offer Free Voting?

Mainstream talent shows such as X Factor and American Idol have been on our screens for almost a decade now. Over this time we have seen stars be made and then thrown out into the rubbish like they never existed. Yes the planet of fame is a hugely popular industry that just will not stand for under achievers.

These shows let the public ultimately decide who wins by calling in at a cost. If you are an avid viewer and voter you can imagine the bill that will come to your home at the end of the month and even the end of the series, you could be paying a fortune for ringing a reality tv shows phone number.

I am sure these shows earn enough money to offer 0800 number voting procedures to viewers, but will this work for such a format? Or will it end up a terrible mess; let us quickly glance over the positive and negatives of both.

Positives:
1) It will allow contestants to garner more votes as people will not hesitate in calling
2) The shows would probably end up getting a lot more viewers because they are showing a more sensitive (non greedy) approach to themselves.

Negatives
Now let us turn our attention to the downsides of implementing an 0800 number.

1) Bulk voting will probably end up jamming up phone lines causing the most popular to get the least votes.
2) Hate and sympathy campaigns against certain acts will be stronger as people will constantly dial to give them more or less votes.

As you can see from the above I think the negatives outweigh the positives. But for any other industry, such as customer relations there will be a huge amount of positive effects compared to the negatives and it is definitely something each and every business should be considering.