Yes, it makes total sense from the perspective of advertisement to give new cameras to established reviewers with bigger followings. And the byproduct is as you say. Kudos for Sigma green lighting Gerald's review. I don't have anything bad to say about Gerald, but I do wish (whilst specs tell you a lot about what you need to know about a new camera) that more reviewers would consider looking at things differently sometimes. I actually like to wait until the later reviews to see filmmakers use it for a few months and allow whatever camera the company has made to really emerge.
I was excited to see the FP-L announcement but a little disappointed Sigma used it to focus on the bigger megapixels. I hope they continue the FP line by advancing the video side to create an even better alternative tool.