Psychic Readings Live

Psychic Readings Live
Psychic Readings Live screenshot with Countess Nadia Starella
Presented by	Flathan Psychic Wayne Isaacs Countess Nadia Starella Sue Hudd Erik Révi Sam Diane Lazarus Grant Colyer Jeannette Dupont Ali Austin Theo Ljubich Amira Celon Papa Wango Djaly Iris Danielle Psychic John Joanna Simone Martina Kramer Carole Davis Warren
Country of origin	Hungary
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	134 (as of 28 October 2012)
Production
Running time	2 hours
Production company(s)	Eso TV
Release
Original network	TV3
Original release	16 June – 3 December 2012
Chronology
Related shows	Play TV

Psychic Readings Live is a live, two-hour phone-in television programme first aired on Ireland's TV3 network at midnight from 16 June to 3 December 2012. Just over two years after TV3 removed Play TV from its schedule, the network began airing Psychic Readings Live in the programme's time slot. Newspaper reports compared the controversy generated by Psychic Readings Live to the scandal caused by Play TV: "It will remind TV3 of a past life".

Produced by Eso.tv, the programme invited viewers to dial a premium-rate telephone line costing €2.44 per minute. The line gave them a chance to communicate with a team of in-studio psychics who offered predictions of future events. Psychic Readings Live attracted criticism for the number of hoax calls from viewers and its use of seemingly- of its psychics. Concerns were also expressed about the nature of some predictions, including one in which a woman was told her property would catch fire.

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 to TV3. Four complaints were upheld against the programme on 9 November 2012. The show was cancelled on 3 December 2012, with its final broadcast airing in that day's overnight slot.

The identities of the team of alleged off-screen clairvoyants were scrutinised after a blogger, Alan Rice, sifted through the programme's online images of its off-screen psychics and discovered that it was using stock photographs. His comments led to complaints of false advertising and inspired a lengthy discussion thread on the boards.ie internet forum, where users posted screenshots of some images. On 22 June, the website JOE.ie reported that the discussion board had 2,700 posts within six days of the programme's premiere.

A number of hoax callers (known as "trolls") contacted Psychic Readings Live, the first within days of the programme's launch. The trolls ask apparently-genuine questions, then tell the psychic they do not believe the reading or verbally abuse them. The Irish Times reported that a viewer phoned the show impersonating Will Smith's character on the U.S. television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, footage of which was posted on YouTube. 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."