Day’s after the SA Idols final result announcement, M-NET has declared that the results are under investigation and could be changed due to a technicality with the timing of the delivery of the SMSes used in the voting process.

As found on the M-NET website here.

The winner is determined by public vote alone based on the number of votes received for each of the two finalists. An unprecedented number of votes were received for the two finalists, Sasha Lee Davids and Jason Hartman.

M-Net’s post-show analysis revealed however, that a significant number of the SMS votes were received after the cut-off time of 18:05 on Sunday evening, due to possible external system latency.

Theo Erasmus, Channel Director: General Entertainment of M-Net SA, says: “The moment we were alerted to possible system problems, we contacted the mobile network operators to request additional data, which could be verified by independent auditors. M-Net hopes to complete this audit in the shortest time possible. It is crucial to M-Net that our viewers can be assured that every vote counts because accuracy is paramount in a show of this nature.”

The investigation will determine whether these SMS votes were sent by members of the public before the final cut-off time of 18:05 on Sunday evening, thus making them legitimate.

The three mobile network operators and M-Net’s service provider, are all co-operating with M-Net to ensure a speedy outcome.

The two finalists, Sasha Lee and Jason, have been made aware of this investigation and will receive all the necessary support they require during this process. They have both been advised that the results may change.

As soon as the investigation is complete, the results will be made known to the public.

The argument is that SMSes were delayed due to network latency and were not received before the cut off time of 6:05pm. Now while the rules of the competition is not easily found on the site (I looked for a few minutes before I gave up, I did find a basic voting guide which stated that voting line will be “open all week until 18h30 on Sunday, 3 May.”
Doe’s this not mean that after the cut off time, votes will not be accepted?

My legal speak is limited to, “I solemnly swear… blah … truth… blah… justice… So help me God”

My opinion

I think that if M-NET does decide to revise the results of the show and do strip the winning title from Sasha-Lee, it is inevitable that the credibility of the entire show be questioned. The excuse given is that results were not received before the cut off time.

I think that the validity of the M-NET Idols SA brand will be culled and any brand manager would tell you that committing brand suicide of this nature with so much media exposure and so much of the publics’ cash tied up in SMS votes, is not advisable.

I have heard stories of the massive celebration in the streets on Atlantis on Sunday. An entire community has stood together and supported the young singer who definitely “put Atlantis on the map” this year! I can only imagine the disappointment and frustration that this community will feel. The feelings of Sasha-Lee and her family & friends will certainly be devastated by such an announcement.

Questions for M-NET:

• How many other contenders were kicked off as a result of “network latency” and insufficient monitoring systems?
• Why did the auditors not account for this?
• How could this not have been clearly defined in the rules of the competition after running for 5 consecutive years with a fair amount of success?
• How can the owning franchise of Idols, not have rules regarding this?
• How will M-NET manage the inevitable brand suicide of Idols and M-NET?
• Is blaming the cellular networks going to be excuse for all other SMS driven competition?

SMS voting systems lose credibility

SMS voting systems too will lose its credibility and the future of a trusted, lucrative industry will undoubtedly bare the scar of a scratched surface. In a cash-strapped economy, with the buzz word of the year being “Recession”, revenue driven services like Premium Rated SMS can not afford the bad PR right now and M-NET will be unconsciously be slandering the validity of these services by accusing the networks of high latency.

This is definitely something that the management at M-NET think long and hard about this before making a decision. I don’t think that they can afford the the impact of this.

By announcing two winners, M-NET will only highlight its weakness in taking a stand in the matter and again will be a sign of the lack of good management of the competition with this display of inability to make a decision.

I am glad that Sasha-Lee Davids won, I thought that was the second most talented Idol in the competition this year, trailing closely behind Thembi who was voted off a few weeks ago!