Words like “scandal”, “catastrophe scheme” and “hair lifting” were used after it became clear that there was a jury of 30 people who decided which four artists went on to the final silver call.
– Reading the pile of complaints is a reminder of the great commitment to MGP. And we, who work with MGP at NRK, have a strong understanding of the disappointment and frustration expressed by the complainants, says Eirik Sandberg Ingstad in NRK’s entertainment department.
– Although we are confident that we end up with the correct winner, we are far from certain that the technique failed and that it obviously did not provide enough sense of justice or recognition for the artist’s contribution. We have learned this, he continues.
With Inge Thorud, Department in NRK’s technology department Ingstad made several points for what went wrong during the end of February.
The voice solution that was used was also used during Spellemann last year and all “Stjernekamp” broadcasts, without any problem. Therefore, it was also chosen as the primary solution under MGP.
– Queue time
As an added feature, to attract the public, a solution was introduced in which the public could animate through emoji reactions.
As is well known here, all is lost.
A massive storm of emoji reactions and high traffic through the broadcast created major technical problems, and the system kneels down as a result of the big rally.
– First we notice it internally. A few minutes later, the public also experiences problems. Then we decided to turn off the emoji reactions. While we work feverishly on the technical side, program managers work to make the most of the time, says Thorud.
– JUST FOR FUN: Tommy Austheim (22) feels mistakenly portrayed as the reason why NRK’s voting system failed, after trying to fill the TV screen with emojis. Check out the scene here.
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– Crisis solution
However, the rescue attempt did not work and therefore the supporting jury was presented. Ingstad explains:
– In five semifinals we had this jury in hand as a crisis solution. We found that the jury chose as much as the actual sites we entered. It made us feel confident that the jury was a well-recruited selection.
He claims that the artists were informed of the crisis solution in advance.
– The choice to let studio recordings be the starting point for scoring was based on a risk assessment. If I were to get votes from the jury based on the overall test, just a few hours before the show started, we felt there was a risk of not getting all 30 votes before the show started. It was not relevant, in our opinion.
Credibility question
Many have expressed frustration after the scandal. Council member Trude Drevland was one of those who argued the following during Wednesday’s meeting:
– You can talk about technical systems in retrospect. The challenge is NRK’s credibility. This is a program seen by many generations. (…) At the same time, it is about how to face criticism, in an error as evident as this one. It was probably not optimal.
She describes the situation as I feel it.
– It bothers me a little, both because we could not vote, but also because there must be credibility to the programs seen by many, both in terms of technical solutions and of what we choose from solutions when the technique fails. 30 people … well. And how we handle criticism later. Otherwise, I have great respect for the explanation given.
The article continues below:
– No cheating or abuse
NRK will now consider whether a jury of 30 people is sufficient, should the event end in the same situation again.
– One of the things we consider is the size of the supporting jury as part of the crisis solution and the way it is recruited. There is work we do, including the possibility of a wider selection, the way they are recruited and can vote based on the live show.
Inge Thorud further states that the technical problems were not due to cheating attempts.
– In the login system we have mechanisms that prevent abuse that affects the result. There was a question following the broadcast about whether people had removed the system on their own, it did not happen. This was not an attempt at deception or abuse.
Additionally, NRK says the program received around 700,000 votes in the two normal voting rounds, distributed to approximately 152,000 users.
Additionally, 97 percent of those who attempted to vote were cast.
In total, there are 1,064 queries to the Council. A total of 948 of these apply to the Grand Prix final in Trondheim on February 15 when the voting system collapsed.
