Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Show me the money. Main sponsor now looking for recourse from SABC3 after Survivor China fiasco




Here's the two official photos only I can show you of the moment viewers didn't get to see on Monday of Todd Herzog winning Survivor: China.

And this just in. Payback time. Literally.

I just got an answer back from Two Oceans Wines, the main sponsor of Survivor: China on SABC3 the past few months.
SABC3 completely botched Monday night's broadcast and viewers are fuming. Of course it also did great damage to the name, the brand and the brand reputation of the sponsors and advertisers connected to the show, like Two Oceans Wines.
Two Oceans Wines is now seeking recourse from the SABC3 and hopes it will happen in a friendly way. What is basically means is that either SABC3 will have to PAY BACK some of the advertising fees Two Oceans Wines paid to be the main sponsor connected to the show, or that SABC3 will have to GIVE MORE future ads to Two Oceans Wines, basically for free.
''We are in discussions with the SABC and believe this unfortunate mistake can be amicably resolved,'' says Heidi Bartis, communications manager for the Distell Group.
I couldn't get a YES or NO answer on whether Two Oceans Wines will be a sponsor of a future season(s) of Survivor.
''Survivor: China followers were extremely aggrieved at the erroneous sequencing of the episodes. Not only was it extremely confusing but it removed all the sense of suspense on which the popularity of the concept is based,'' she says.

''We now want to work constructively in reaching accord with the broadcaster.''
To put it in Survivor terms we can all understand:
Basically Two Oceans Wines has all the power and is running Payback Island. Either SABC3 joins the alliance and does what Two Oceans Wines tell it to, or gets VOTED OFF.