Given that I hate the latest tabloid-TV craze to hit Britain - the late-night phone- in gameshows which claim to offer untold worth if you can only guess the boy's name they're thinking of - I am somewhat embarrassed to propose an idea encouraging them.

Nevertheless.

A man stands in a slightly murky, ageing studio. There's a fug of smoke visible towards the top of the screen. He's holding an old-fashioned mike in his hand and as he calls the numbers, lights flash and a phone number pings across the bottom of the screen. It's easy. If you have Bingo you call the number. First person to get through shouts 'Bingo!' and wins lots of money. All players who call are charged a premium rate phone call.

Easy money. Please now contribute bones so that the evil powers controlling our late night viewing don't get the impression we all think this is a good idea. Thanks now.
-- cheesecake, May 04 2007

National Bingo Night http://abc.go.com/p...ight/index?pn=index
Interactive TV Bingo [Noexit, May 04 2007]

Talking Telephone Numbers http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296436/
For [imaginality], not much there though. [stilgar, May 07 2007]

I not quite sure how it works; how do viewers get a bingo card?

My variation would be based on the viewers' phone numbers. The bingo show host would reveal pairs of numbers. If your phone number contains all the pairs of numbers, you call in and shout bingo.

This variation would be good because it would encourage viewers to involve their friends hence increase revenue ("barry, you've got to call 555-BINGO and shout bingo!").
-- xaviergisz, May 04 2007


[xaviergisz], I have vague memories of a UK quiz show doing something along those lines. As I recall it was hosted by Philip Schofield and someone else, and they revealed some single digits - six or seven of them, I think. If you had all of them in your phone number you could call in to win something or take part in something.

[Edit: that's the one; thanks, [stilgar].]

I could see [cheesecake]'s idea working if the show hooks up with a tabloid. "Buy 'The Sun' on Thursday to get this week's Ring-a-Bing-Bingo bingo card!'"
-- imaginality, May 04 2007


Baked, at least here in the U.S. I didn't believe the ad when I first saw it on TV, but sure enough, it's real. Big balls too.
-- Noexit, May 04 2007


All right! I'm all for gratuitous marriages... Oh, there's more to the title... Well, since you want fishbones, here's one.

When I was in the Navy, our ship did something like this. Just on the ship mind you.

They'd sell the bingo cards for a premium price of about five dollars each, and show the balls on closed circuit TV throughout the ship. Then we'd use the ship's phones to call in.

I seem to recall the TV would have a tendency to black out unexpectedly for a few seconds, after which a certain chief onboardthe ship would usually be declared the winner. There would be a lot of talkabout this, since that particular chief also had started the program.

The guys that operated the TV system also tended to win rather often after unexpected blackouts.
-- ye_river_xiv, May 05 2007


After the recent OfCom quest to rid the world of morally bankrupt premium rate phone-ins, I doubt any broadcaster would be in the mood to touch this idea, 'bones or no 'bones.
-- Fishrat, May 07 2007



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