Yeah, part of the article referenced how a show might have picked from a pool of callers already, but waited around while people still called in, dropping the 35 pence per dial. Same thing Playmania does. Well, sort of. I can't out-and-out prove that they have somebody ready to go while they're still taking entries, but from a production standpoint it makes sense. Get somebody from the large pool that texted before the game was really on the screen and just wait around, so you don't have to vamp while the caller's screened. All that "hey guys, the player's lounge is empty! Get involved, text 'play' to 77..." stuff? Pfft. It's beyond reasonable, in my opinion, to suggest all the text-and-loses are dishonest to some degree.
-Jason