In the UK, the reality series Big Brother allows viewers to submit text messages that appear on live television – albeit with a slight delay and some content filtering – as the action unfolds. A scrolling ticker or section on the screen displays the viewers' comments on the action.

Aside from the entertainment value and the social implications of interacting with live television, the economics are compelling. American Idol alone generates hundreds of millions of SMS messages over the course of a season. At a few cents per message for the operator, the revenue scales rapidly. For the content producer, the financial impact can be more dramatic. While American Idol doesn't charge viewers, Deal or No Deal charges 99 cents per vote. The producer of Deal or No Deal bills the show as the largest premium cross-carrier SMS event in the U.S., and industry insiders say that the show makes more money on the voting than from sponsors. This fundamentally changes the way commercial television works.

In a more serious vein, civic-minded groups around the world are investigating and promoting SMS voting for actual municipal