21 October 2022, Budapest - The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has initiated proceedings against ATV for allegedly misleading consumers during a sweepstake related to the public vote on the Heti Napló (Weekly Journal) programme. The GVH investigation serves the interests of ATV viewers and protects consumers.
The Hungarian Competition Authority has launched a competition supervision procedure against ATV Első Magyar Magántelevíziós Zrt. (ATV) for alleged unfair commercial practices against consumers during its programme “Heti Napló with András Sváby".
In the game linked to the programme, viewers can vote by SMS (and on Facebook) on the question asked on the show, and the TV undertaking draws prizes among the voters. However, it is suspected that the draw takes place before the end of the programme broadcast time, so voters voting after that time are no longer able to participate. However, viewers are not informed of any of this, so they continue sending SMS messages in the hope of winning even after the hidden closure of the game. In this way, the broadcaster is likely to mislead consumers who send in their votes.
The opening of competition proceedings does not mean that ATV committed the infringement. The proceedings are aimed to clarify the facts and thereby prove the alleged infringement. The time allowed for the procedure is three months, which may be extended twice, in duly justified cases, for a maximum of two months each time.
Official registration number of the case: VJ/41/2022.
Press Office of the GVH