The poll found that 72% of people believe that TV phone-in competitions are difficult to trust, because they do not know whether they have a fair chance of winning.
It also revealed that more than half of the public trusts TV producers less than they did a year ago.
The poll confirms that the scandals involving faked phone-in winners on shows from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five have damaged the public's faith in the industry.
Ofcom fined the BBC £50,000 in July for faking a winner on 'Blue Peter', and Five was fined £300,000 in June for faking winners on its 'Brainteaser' programme.
Premium-rate phone line regulator Icstis fined operator Eckoh £150,000 in July in relation to the 'You Say We Pay' quiz on Channel 4's 'Richard and Judy'. It concluded that half of all calls, costing £1, were received after the shortlist of winners had been chosen.
The Edinburgh TV Festival commissioned the poll in connection with a debate it is holding called 'Trust Me ... I'm in Telly'. The panel will feature Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4, Simon Shaps, director of TV at ITV, Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision, Tim Hincks, chief creative officer of Endemol UK, and media journalist Ray Snoddy.
The panel are also likely to cover the recent controversy around TV documentaries 'A Year with the Queen' and 'Malcolm and Barbara'.
In the poll, 48% of people said they did not trust television very much at all and 59% said documentaries distorted the truth in the editing stage.
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