Adelaide’s new marketing juggernaut

Nearly 50,000 people attended a game of domestic cricket at Adelaide Oval this week, and many of them happily waved placards including the logo of a breakfast cereal, or wore empty fried-chicken buckets on their heads.

A new Jeep was given away between innings, and the electronic hoardings flashed up a passing parade of big-ticket sponsors.

But the clincher – why the SACA knows it really isn’t in Kansas any more – was the television ratings for the BBL T20 match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes.

Some 167,000 Adelaide people tuned in to the second session of the round robin match. In the modern media world, that’s a huge number.

To put that into sharper perspective, about 237,000 Adelaideans tuned into the Crows’ stunning elimination victory over the Western Bulldogs last September.

The top-rating program in Adelaide last year – the AFL Grand Final – garnered 296,000 local viewers, and the Cricket World Cup final pulled in 223,000.

The national team’s first one-day international against India on Tuesday drew only 118,000 Adelaide viewers to Nine’s coverage of the prime-time second session.

In Melbourne, one of that sports-mad city’s two Big Bash franchises – the Stars – was left without a major sponsor after retailer Dick Smith went under. They signed up telecommunications company Optus to a long-term sponsorship deal within 24 hours.

However…

Network Ten has been replaying the exciting last over of the Strikers’ innings again and again after a technical stuff-up all but destroyed viewers’ enjoyment of the match.

As the match was in the balance, the coverage suddenly switched to a shopping channel – an infomercial for a massage chair.

It’s obviously a technical trap for all the networks in the era of multiple digital channels.

A few weeks ago, a documentary on Seven Mate about NFL legend Joe Namath and his Superbowl-winning New York Jets switched halfway through to coverage of tennis, without explanation.

Radio holidays over

The first radio ratings survey period of the year begins next week and regular presenters – and some newbies – are returning from holidays on Monday. The summer fill-ins will go back to their day jobs.

ABC 891’s new line-up will begin on Monday, with Ali Clarke taking the morning shift, replacing Ian Henschke, who moves to drive.

Also returning to his desk next week is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, Professor Warren Bebbington.

He has promised to make an announcement this month on the future of the university-run community station Radio Adelaide, including new ownership.

Beware the stock market

Stock photos are occasionally a necessary evil for news websites, when footage or imagery of an event isn’t available.

But editors can look like fools – or worse – when something goes wrong.

SBS hosted a story from India’s NDTV on its site this week which provides an appalling example.

The story was the almost unimaginable tragedy of the Adelaide family of six who died after a road crash in India.

While it originated in India, SBS should have removed it. The image is stock – from Wikipedia, no less.

Naughty corner

Actor Sean Penn’s adventure into amateur journalism was a mixed bag.

His first achievement was enormous – gaining an exclusive interview with the Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

However, he fell at the next hurdle – conducting a sensible interview and writing a sensible article.

His self-important 10,000-word piece for Rolling Stone has a stream-of-consciousness style reminiscent of bad poetry.

So, in the tradition of Make the Pie Higher, Media Week has constructed a free-verse poem from phrases and sentences in the article. We hope you enjoy Everything I say to everyone must be true.

Everything I say to everyone must be true

The look in his eye is far away, but locked dead on me.
My speculation goes audio. I hear chain saws. I feel splatter.
Another day’s fight is lost.

Dick in hand I do consider it among my body parts vulnerable
… and take a fond last look.
There is no doubt this is the real deal.

What is it that removes all doubt from a man’s eyes?
Is it power?
Nods follow. I move. And, when I do…there he is.
(At this moment, I expel a minor traveller’s flatulence –
we escape its subtle brume.)

Two bouncing birds side by side
through the thermals
over the mountainous jungle.
Espinoza is the owl who flies among falcons.

It seemed such a strange dream.
Do you have any dreams? Do you dream?
Where are you dying tonight?

Top of the class

South Australia-raised and educated journalist Helen McCabe this week quit her post as editor-in-chief of the Australian Women’s Weekly after six years in charge of the venerable magazine.

She deserves accolades for bringing strong news values to the Weekly, including scoops such as last year’s interview with disgraced “wellness” blogger Belle Gibson. McCabe has also kept circulation losses to a minimum – at least compared to other glossy mags – and successfully established a digital presence for the Weekly.

Media Week is published on Fridays.