Is AT&T The Diebold Of American Idol?

Don't be fooled

A day or two ago I talked about how the new Green Day album is the best music release of the year or, perhaps, the decade. So you can probably guess I'm not a fan of American Idol. I've never watched it and it pisses me off when someone tries talking with me about it. However there was a story about the show in yesterday's NY Times that I couldn't resist reading. If you don't believe that Dielbold helped Bush steal the 2004 election in Ohio, among other places, you probably won't believe that AT&T helped Kris Allen steal his Idol championship from Adam Lambert. And, no, it isn't because AT&T are a bunch of Mormon homophobes-- at least as far as I can discern.

AT&T, one of the biggest corporate sponsors of American Idol, might have influenced the outcome of this year’s competition by providing free text-messaging services and lessons in casting blocks of votes at parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, the Arkansas singer who was named the winner of the show last week.

Representatives of AT&T, whose mobile phone network is the only one that can be used to cast American Idol votes via text message, provided the free text-messaging services at two parties in Arkansas after the final performance episode of American Idol last week, according to the company and people at the events.

There appear to have been no similar efforts to provide free texting services to supporters of Adam Lambert, who finished as the runner-up to Mr. Allen.

...In addition to the free texting services, representatives of AT&T also helped fans of Mr. Allen at the two Arkansas events with instructions on how to send multiple, simultaneous “power text” messages into the American Idol voting lines.

By sending 10 or more text messages at the press of a single button, “power texts” have an exponentially greater effect on voting than do single text messages or calls to the show’s toll-free phone lines.

The efforts appear to run afoul of American Idol voting rules in two ways. The show broadcasts an on-screen statement at the end of each episode warning that blocks of votes cast using “technical enhancements” that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out.

And the show regularly states that text voting is open only to AT&T subscribers and is subject to normal rates.

AT&T admits (brags) that "more than 178 million text messages crossed its network as fans interacted with the American Idol TV show this season, the highest total for any season and up from the 78 million messages AT&T reported last year." The Orange County Register estimates that that represents as much as 20% of the total votes cast.

It was painful to even watch 2 minutes of Idol but here's some early Billy Idol: