Psychic Readings Live
| Psychic Readings Live | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Flathan, Psychic Wayne, Countess Nadia Starella, Sue Hudd, Erik, Sam Diane Lazarus Grant Colyer |
| Country of origin | Hungary |
| No. of series | 1 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 2 hours |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV3 |
| Release | 16 June 2012 – Present |
| Related | |
| Play TV | |
Psychic Readings Live is a live two-hour late night phone-in television programme first aired on Ireland's TV3 network at midnight on 16 June 2012. Just over two years after TV3 removed Play TV from its schedules, it began to air Psychic Readings Live in the same slot. Newspaper reports compared the controversy generated by Psychic Readings Live to the scandal generated by Play TV, with one saying "it will remind TV3 of a past life".[1]
Produced by Eso.tv (ESO.TV is part of the Telemedia Group),[2] the programme, which airs between midnight and two a.m., invites viewers to dial a premium-rate telephone line,[3] costing them €2.44 per minute.[4] Calling this line grants viewers the chance to communicate with a team of in-studio psychics, who offer predictions of future events. Psychic Readings Live has attracted criticism over its apparent use of stock photographs showing pictures of its psychics, and because of the number of hoax calls from viewers. It is this controversy that has led to it being described as "an Irish pop culture phenomenon", with internet message boards buzzing nightly with netizens dissecting the latest incidents.[3]
On 17 July 2012 the Irish Examiner reported that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) had the programme "on their radar" following a number of complaints about it to TV3.
Production
Eso TV (Telemedia Hungary) produces 600 hours of psychic readings live shows throughout Europe each month (in Switzerland on 3+ (10 hours), in Hungary on TV2, Hálózat TV (6 hours a day), in Slovakia on JOJ Plus TV (one hour a day, in Ireland on TV3 (2 hours a day), in Croatia on Nova TV, Doma TV and Z1 TV (four hours a day), in Bosnia and Herzegovina on OBN (2 hours a day) etc. Telemedia publishes each month an esoteric magazine called Ezo Élet Magazin (26.000 Ex. a month) => € 25.000/month. Each host on these Psychic Readings Live shows gets €50.00 per show hosted in Budapest. A room, a cell phone, a fly ticket to Budapest are offered to the hosts by Telemedia. The hosts are paid cash or by bank withdraw. On their contracts, Telemedia is not stated but Kindy Management Limited (Akara Bldg., 24 De Castro Street, Wickhams Cay I, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Presenters
The series has been fronted by six presenters: Flathan Rene Huerter (known as "Flathan"), Wayne Isaacs (known as "Psychic Wayne"), "Countess Nadia Starella", "Sue Hudd", "Erik", "Sam", and "Diane Lazarus" all of whom claim to possess psychic powers. They are backed up by a team of alleged off-screen clairvoyants.
Psychic Wayne was the first presenter to leave the series, followed by Flathan, who announced his departure on 4 July 2012. Erik made his presenting debut the following day but has not appeared since. As of 7 July, both Psychic Wayne and Flathan have returned to the show. Since then, Flathan has again announced his departure, claiming he was going to the airport immediately after the show had ended on the 14 July 2012. Sam, who claimed to be an "angel reader", made her presenting debut on 19 July 2012.
| Psychic | Status |
|---|---|
| Flathan | Appearing |
| Countess Nadia Starella | Appearing backstage |
| Wayne Isaacs | No longer Appearing |
| Sam | No longer Appearing |
| Sue Hudd | No Longer Appearing |
| Grant Colyer | No longer Appearing |
| Erik | Once off appearance |
| Diane Lazarus | Once off appearance |
Controversies
The identities of the team of alleged off-screen clairvoyants were subjected to scrutiny after a blogger, Alan Rice, sifted through the programme's online images of its off-screen psychics only to discover the programme was deploying stock photographs. His comments on this discovery led to complaints about false advertising and inspired a lengthy discussion thread on the boards.ie internet forum, where users posted screenshots of some of the images.[1] On 22 June, the website JOE.ie reported that the discussion board had attracted 2,700 posts within six days of the programme's launch.[3]
In addition, a number of hoax callers or "trolls" have contacted Psychic Readings Live, the first of these within days of the programme's launch. The trolls ask apparently genuine questions, only to tell the psychic they do not believe the reading or hurl abuse at them. The Irish Times reported that one viewer called the show pretending to be Will Smith’s character from the U.S. television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, footage of which was subsequently posted on YouTube, while another concluded her call: “They don’t have Play TV anymore so I can’t try and lose my money, okay. I’ll try and save it...I’ll be in touch with BAI soon.”[1]
Illusionist Keith Barry, in expressing his disapproval of Psychic Readings Live, challenged Psychic Wayne to a magical dual. Declining the invitation, Psychic Wayne gave an equally light-hearted response, claiming that he was bowing to the greater forces of Keith Barry, and maintaining that such a battle, were it to ever occur, would have irreparable consequences for the entire universe.[5]
Conor Pope, the consumer protection writer for The Irish Times, rang into Psychic Readings Live in July 2012 and asked Psychic Wayne about a concern he felt that someone he is connected to in his job was stealing money belonging to other people. He was promptly cut off.[6] Pope expressed his concerns about the calls the programme in an article on 17 July: "The show appears to attract vulnerable and unhappy people looking in all the wrong places for answers, and then charges them staggering amounts of money for readings of questionable merit. There have been growing calls from bemused viewers for it to be axed. The growing controversy is not unlike the one which engulfed Play TV, an infomercial “quiz” night that TV3 eventually scrapped after complaints, fines and mountains of bad press."[7]
In response to such criticisms of the show, TV3 sought to distance itself from Psychic Readings Live, issuing a statement on 26 June 2012 stating that it had no responsibility for the programme's content,[1] and describing Psychic Readings Live as an infomercial.[5] Eso.tv described the show as being “for entertainment purposes only”, though this is not made clear enough by the presenters.[1]
On 17 July 2012, the Irish Examiner reported that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was monitoring the programme following a number of complaints to TV3. Any complaint concerning a show that has been on air for less than 30 days is referred to the broadcaster concerned, but if the complainant is not satisfied with the response after that period they can then contact BAI. On 17 July Psychic Readings Live had only just reached the 30-day deadline, but BAI said the show was "on their radar".[8]
In the same Examiner article concerns were expressed by the charity Age Action Ireland, which feared elderly and isolated people may be calling the programme as an excuse for human contact, and running up large phone bills as a consequence. The charity urged the cost of the calls to be highlighted, and for relatives of anyone living alone to take steps to ensure they did not feel so cut-off from other people.[8]
Location
The presenters of the show claim that they are in Ireland. However, the programme is actually broadcast from Eso TV's headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.[7] This was confirmed in Erik's first and only appearance on the show to date, where he constantly claimed that "it's late in Budapest". After making this claim numerous times Erik was pulled from the show and replaced by Countess Nadia Starella for the remainder of the programme. He has not appeared since. Flathan (one of the presenters of the show) also verified this on Twitter.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e Hegarty, Shane (30 June 2012). "Will TV3' s psychics stay on air? Only they can tell". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Psychics.Eso.TV". Eso.tv. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "TV Review: London Calling provides inspiration, while Psychic Readings Live offers hilarity". JOE.ie. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Is this flamboyant clairvoyant the future of late night television?". Irish Independent. Independent News and Media. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b "TV3 distances itself from Psychic Wayne TV broadcast". The Journal. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Conor Pope contacts Psychic Wayne". Psychic Readings Live.
- ^ a b Pope, Conor (17 July 2012). "Fortunes in the making". The Irish Times. The Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Jason (17 July 2012). "TV3 psychic show 'on the radar' of media watchdog over cost complaint". Irish Examiner. Thomas Crosbie Holdings. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Flathan Huerter twitter". Flathan twitter. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
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