TV RATINGS SEPTEMBER 2021. From Idols and The Estate to SABC3 and Cyril Ramaphosa the TV star: 9 latest SA TV ratings must-knows.

by Thinus Ferreira

While The Estate on the struggling SABC3 keeps plunging in the ratings and the latest season of Idols on Mzansi Magic failed to regain its ratings sheen, South Africa's September TV ratings revealed several interesting viewership insights as the SABC's TV channels keep losing viewers and SABC3 fell to another new all-time viewership low.

1. When Scandal! is on, 1 in every 2 people watches

In September the public broadcaster's SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 TV channels all lost ratings share with all three channels seeing a slight viewership and share decrease while the country's only free-to-air commercial broadcaster e.tv managed to increase its ratings.

Uzalo remains the most-watched TV show in South Africa, of the SABC and on SABC1 although it gave up viewers in September, slightly falling from 7.64 million in August to 6.87million viewers in September.

SABC1's perennial second and third place shows, Generations - The Legacy with 5.96 million viewers and Skeem Saam with 5.03 million viewers on SABC1 were slightly off from their August audiences.

e.tv's primetime soap Scandal! now holds the solid third place as South Africa's most watched TV show with 5.74 million viewers and a 48.3 share. It means that half of the available TV audience have their TV's tuned to Scandal! at 19:30 on a weeknight.

Scandal!'s lead-in, House of Zwide at 19:00 on e.tv held steady in September with 4.43 million viewers.

2. Cyril Ramaphosa - the presidential TV star

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa remains a South African TV star. 

His prime time presidential address on 12 September announcing the country's move to Lockdown Level 2 lured 2.53 million viewers on SABC2 and an additional 2.03 million viewers on e.tv.

Besides those viewers watching on SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Africa pushing the combined total even higher, means that he pulled a bigger audience than Muvhango in September that was SABC2's most-watched show with 3.69 million viewers. 

On SABC1 the Zulu TV news bulletin was watched by 3.25 million viewers and the Xhosa TV news by 3.03 million viewers as the 4th and 5th most-watched programming in the channel.

3. The Estate finds better TV real estate on SABC1

After starting repeats of old episodes of The Estate on SABC1 from September, the repurposed SABC3 weekday soap lured 2.4 million viewers in its 19:30 timeslot with a 21.8 share - roughly the same as when uBettina Wethu was airing in the same timeslot. 

The Estate's ratings fortune however continue to sink in its airing of first-run episodes on SABC3.

On SABC2 its Afrikaans weekday soap 7de Laan held steady in September at 1.09 million viewers, with the Setswana TV news pulling in 726 229 viewers during September, followed by the Afrikaans TV news with 703 432 viewers, and the Venda/Tsonga TV news with 607 324 viewers.

4. Morning Live keeps shining

SABC2's Morning Live breakfast show lured 602 002 viewers in September - more than some prime time shows like Speak Out at 572 545 on SABC2 or anything shown on SABC3, showing how valuable and lucrative the real estate of morning shows are to broadcasters as a coveted advertiser TV destination.

5. SABC3 and Con Air

The SABC's TV channel on life-support, SABC3, continues to bleed and remains in a very bad and deteriorating condition. 

Strip out the once-off football match between Bafana Bafana against Ghana in Qatar on 6 September that lured 1.03 million viewers as SABC3's most watched piece of content for the month and SABC3 once again sagged to a new all-time low of 673 524 viewers at most for the film Con Air on 5 September. 

This 673 524 viewers - the most SABC3 could garner for September besides the soccer match, is down further from SABC3's August highest audience of 733 963 for a Costa Rica nature documentary.

The English TV news bulletin on SABC3 at 18:00 lured 387 841 viewers - a far cry from e.tv's well-performing etv News bulletin at 20:00 that pulled 1.65 million viewers in September and the 1.52 million viewers who watched the eNCA-simulcast South Africa Tonight at 19:00 on e.tv.

6. The Estate in terminal first-run decline

With truly shocking viewership numbers it won't come as any surprise if The Estate on SABC3 produced by Clive Morris Productions gets cancelled like the channel did with High Rollers, is shifted permanently to SABC1 as a first-run show where it now airs as repeats since September, or is moved out of the shark-infested TV waters of 19:00.

Viewership for the expensive to produce series literally fell of the ratings cliff in September as its ratings keeps sliding lower month after month since its debut.

While The Estate still managed 300 738 viewers in August - up against the incredibly damaging House of Zwide on e.tv - the show literally disappeared in September and no longer shows up as one of the 20 most-watched shows on SABC3. 

It means that The Estate plunged below the 291 793 viewers that an episode of Challenge SOS pulled in 20th position.

The talk show Unpacked with Relebogile that still had 304 444 viewers in August (more than The Estate and much cheaper to produce) also disappeared from SABC3 in September.

7. Deur Dik en Dun: e.tv's solid MVP TV bench

At e.tv the ratings life-signs are strong and stable - the life-blood for ad planners and buyers who must project and "guestimate" future viewership based on past and current viewership patterns.

Besides Scandal! and House of Zwide, Imbewu with 3.83 million viewers in third place and Durban Gen in 4th with 2.33 million viewers are the other two most valuable players in e.tv's top-4 TV bench.

Family Feud SA from Rapid Blue held stead at just over 2 million viewers in 5th place. 

The Afrikaans-dubbed Turkish drama telenovela Deur Dik en Dun continues to shine with a whopping 1.67 million loyal viewers, with e.tv's strategy of customising Turkish telenovelas that is paying off handsomely.

8. Idols stays damaged

On DStv local reality drama continues to be the flavour of the month but viewers although hundreds of thousands of viewers are still not in the mood to return to Idols in the aftermath of the Somizi Mhlongo scandal. 

Time will tell whether Idols in South Africa is permanently damaged and has started the ratings slide that eventually grabbed hold of American Idol in America.

In September the lurid cheater's expose reality series Uyajola 9/9 on Moja Love (DStv 157) surged to the top of the DStv ratings pile where Idols used to reign, grabbing 1.58 million DStv subscribers. Gomora on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) followed in second place with 1.15 million viewers, and with The Queen in third with 1.02 million viewers. 

Idols, produced by [SIC] Entertainment and now in the Top 10 Sunday live performances period of the 17th season, managed only 709 655 viewers at most during the month for the 19 September episode - very slightly up from August's 693 760 as only the 9th most watched show on DStv. 

It's quite a fall for the series that reigned supreme in the ratings during previous seasons during this phase of the competition.

9. DStv sees new Giants rise

Other DStv stand-out include the little show that could, Giants of the City, on Moja Love pulling 791 241 viewers in September, showing strong growth from August's 604 503 viewers. 

MultiChoice's top 30 most watched shows in September all came from just 3 TV channels: M-Net's Mzansi Magic and Mzansi Wethu, as well as Siyaya TV's Moja Love.

SABC won't broadcast Proteas T20 World Cup cricket tournament, slams MultiChoice and 'exploitative' SuperSport trying to keep sub-licensing content away from rivals eMedia's Openview and TelkomONE.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster won't show South Africa's national cricket team compete at the ongoing T20 World Cup, and is slamming the pay-TV operator MultiChoice and an "exploitative" SuperSport for allegedly once again wanting to sub-sell the rights with what the SABC calls unreasonable, unfair and anti-competitive conditions.

SuperSport once again demanded that the SABC would not be able to show the T20 World Cup on its digital terrestrial feed of its SABC1, SABC2 or SABC3 TV channels carried on eMedia Holdings' Openview satellite TV service, or on the streaming version of SABC1, SABC2 or SABC3 carried on Telkom's TelkomONE video streaming service where the content must be blacked out.

MultiChoice sees Openview and TelkomONE as direct rivals with SuperSport that was only willing to let the SABC show the T20 World Cup on the analogue terrestrial versions of the SABC's TV channels.

South African viewers therefore can only watch the T20 World Cup and the Proteas playing as DStv subscribers since the SABC doesn't have the rights and didn't want to acquire it from SuperSport for its SABC Sport channel.

The Proteas will play against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on this coming Saturday and against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in their next two matches. They then return to Sharjah to conclude their pool stage of the T20 World Cup against England on 2 November.

"Unfortunately the SABC does not have TV rights to this tournament," says Gugu Ntuli, SABC group executive for corporate affairs and marketing.

"The rights were not made available to the public broadcaster by the rights holders. All the rights were sold by right holders, including the free-to-air rights, to SuperSport, a pay-TV service."

Gugu Ntuli said the SABC refused to accept the conditions of SuperSport's sub-licensing deal.

"The public broadcaster rejected them as the SABC would not then be able to broadcast the matches on its sports channel or on SABC 1, SABC2 and SABC3 via Openview or TelkomONE."

"The SABC believes the conditions imposed upon it are unreasonable, unfair and anti-competitive and therefore could not be accepted."

"The SABC would love to show these matches on its TV platforms, but this is not possible due to the reasons mentioned above."

"The SABC refuses to allow SuperSport to exploit its dominant financial position in the sports right market and disregard not just the SABC but also millions of South African sports fans in this manner. The SABC is calling on Icasa to address this inherent unfairness by cracking down on total exclusivity and decoupling free-to-air rights from pay TV acquisition."

MultiChoice says that "the proposal offers the SABC the rights to broadcast these matches on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3. It follows the same terms and conditions as previous sub-licensing agreements between MultiChoice and the SABC.

"Unfortunately, the SABC has decided to reject this offer, which will result in its audiences being unable to view these fixtures."

MultiChoice says that the Randburg-based pay-TV operator "does not believe a term of the offer precluding SABC making the content available to third-party competitors with whom it has concluded commercial arrangements, is anti-competitive."

"The offer to the SABC is fully compliant with the Sport Broadcasting Services Regulations issued by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa)."

The Kingdom actor Thapelo Maropefela (24) has died.

by Thinus Ferreira

The young actor Thapelo Maropefela known for his role in the SABC1 drama series The Kingdom has died just before his 25th birthday.

The actor and model was recently assaulted by 8 security guards in Maboneng in Johannesburg and was hospitalised.

His older sister, Kamogelo Maropefela announced Thapelo Maropefela's death on social media, and said that the actor had died just before turning 25. The cause of his death is not yet known.

"I'm so sorry. Your story was not meant to end now. Not on the eve of your 25th birthday. We are hurt. Cut deep. Empty. But we will try to celebrate you in our mourning. So difficult for me to say rest easy, because it wasn't your time to rest yet! Aow papa. I'm so so sorry. We think of you today, and forever. May your spirit find peace."

"What pains me the most is, he never spends his birthday at home," she said. "This year, he assured my mom he was gonna be home for his birthday. Unfortunately he didn't make it. He left us, on the eve of his birthday."

"I love you so much. Till we meet again, Sthape. Happy Birthday, little bro."

RMJ Artist Management in a statement said that "The industry has yet lost again! We would like to send condolences to Thapelo Maropefela's family, close friends and supporters. Thapelo was a rising star in the entertainment industry. He is an actor well known for his recent role as Kagiso on SABC1's The Kingdom."

CNN International adjusts Africa programming schedule, returns The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo now at 11pm.

by Thinus Ferreira

CNN International (DStv 403) once again adjusted its programming schedule for Africa from this week, with The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo back on the schedule at 23:00, done from London.

CNN International adjusted its live programming for the Africa, Europe and Middle East (EMEA) region from Monday 25 October with the half-hour show The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo now on weeknights at 23:00.

The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo gives viewers a look and analysis of news events around the world.

The latest CNN International prime time evening line-up from 25 October is now:

18:00 One World with Zain Asher (CNN New York)

18:45 Feature insert

19:00 Amanpour (CNN London)

20:00 Hala Gorani Tonight (CNN London)

21:00 Quest Means Business (CNN New York)

22:00 The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN Washington)

23:00 The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo (CNN London)

23:30 World Sport (CNN Atlanta)

00:00 The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (CNN Washington)

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. 'A Dubai Déjà vu': How MultiChoice and the champagne brigade at its Dubai Expo 2020 jaunt evoked a big-on-partying, small-on-substance media look - again.

by Thinus Ferreira

More questions are raised by media - this time about the behaviour of the media themselves - following MultiChoice's Dubai Expo 2020 excursion, where press from South Africa, flown to Dubai business class, were once again apparently more eager to share social media photos of their boat parties, afterparties and snaps from the Burj Khalifa's 148th floor, than working and providing real-time coverage of the TV industry and about MultiChoice's content shared there.

MultiChoice already perplexed swathes of the South African press corps covering television with the pay-TV operator's bizarre exercise last week of doing a "viewing" and panel session in Dubai of the upcoming locally-produced series Blood Psalms.

Blood Psalms will debut on MultiChoice's Showmax video streaming service in February 2022.

Many in the media, meanwhile, have been shaking their heads at MultiChoice's apparently uninformed and opportunistic content land grab.

Members of the media, talking among themselves, continue to discuss MultiChoice odd behaviour and perplexing Dubai modus operandi when it comes to media management.

They are wondering why MultiChoice chose to dilute and deliberately diminish the press value of a piece of presumably premium new content by ripping off the packaging and doing a media debut for Blood Psalms in Dubai - first - without showing its so-called "homegrown content" to South African media before taking it overseas.

"Imagine ITV doing a debut and panel sesh of something like Downton Abbey, in Dubai of all places just because that's what it has in the kitty, before razzmatazzing it in front of UK press first. You want to snicker at MultiChoice's lack of reading the room but it's just sad really. Unforced error," said a longtime South African journalist covering film and TV.

"Obviously MultiChoice can't and won't dazzle Dubai with Moja Love's Uyajola 9/9 as a showcase of South African TV talent so they sacrificed something prematurely they should have kept since Blood Psalms is maybe all that's new they perhaps have." 

Now questions are also swirling inside South Africa's media circles around the media's participation itself and their work there - or lack of - in properly covering the dabblings of MultiChoice at the Dubai Expo 2020 excursion.

Media who went, couldn't bother with creating any substantive number of thought pieces, original articles, interviews and stories that got traction about MultiChoice and its content.

You'd search in vain, for instance, for any interviews with the producers or those behind-the-scenes putting together MultiChoice's 1NightWithMzansi concert in the Dubai Opera House before it aired, to help promote it. 

(The TV variety special on MultiChoice and M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) channel then proved to be quite a let-down).

The media were however quick to post photos on social media immediately about the 1NightWithMzansi afterparty, clubbing the night away.

Add in the pool pics, the obligatory flute glass and seafood lunch snappies, and MultiChoice's Dubai Expo 2020 media junket turned into the journalist's life to die for, darling.

It's sadly strongly reminiscent of MultiChoice's disappointing and haphazardly organised Digital Dialogue Conference in Dubai for which MultiChoice also flew an oddly-chosen group of media from across sub-Saharan Africa to Dubai in May 2018.

The results were spectacular. But in a very bad way.

Instead of actually reporting what the experts said at MultiChoice's Digital Dialogue Conference - doing interviews, delivering comprehensive on-the-ground coverage and providing analysis - the invited "media" from Africa were apparently star-struck, lazy and caught up in the moment instead of focusing on doing the work of reporting. 

The media MultiChoice invited to Dubai in 2018, focused almost solely on showing off their temporary new lux-lifestyle lives than of doing and posting any actual work. 

They were much more intent on capturing and sharing the perfect photos of their camel rides in the Dubai desert, posting photos of falcons and falconer show-and-tell interactions, and even walking around in gilded Dubai shopping malls, varnished with faux gold where they would snap garish photos of McDonalds.

Three years later in 2021 - and perhaps having learnt nothing or having lost the institutionalised memory after the exit of its previous publicists' corps - MultiChoice went back to the same playbook, apparently for more of the same media-lame, coverage-tame results.

"If you see media boasting and posting about flying business class to Dubai before they've even started reporting on anything about a company, that's problematic," says an editor who comments anonymously since the person, like other media, have an ongoing media relationship with MultiChoice.

"It speaks to the caliber and what the level of media maturity is of those invited."

The person cautioned that companies generally should do better homework and do the best media planning possible to guard against "the type of unoriginal, pandering content you're probably going to get - if any - from an influencer or media worker from a sponsored trip" if there isn't clearly-defined rules and an agreement on expectations and media coverage from both sides beforehand.

A veteran videographer, journalist and social media raconteur who've long attended MultiChoice's media events in the past, told me this week about MultiChoice's Dubai media jaunt: "Like the crowing of Miss South Africa 2021, very few people realised that MultiChoice hosted a 'content showcase' of the locally-produced and filmed Blood Psalms".

"Social media persons and publications that normally crack the invite and collectively post to 'trend' this type of spectacular, seemed no longer worthy. Sad but true the new brooms did not seem to value their hosts. All they did was post about themselves 'living their best life', not even hashtagging their hosts who had carted them to Dubai. Event? What event? Claps twice!!"

Says a journalist who is also a media and journalism lecturer: "It remains the prerogative of MultiChoice and M-Net as to what media, and who, they invite to cover DStv content activations and media events. One wonders how MultiChoice compiled a likely ROI of earned media coverage and reach".

"Access media should provide more, and much broader, coverage of your media event than media you're just sending the generic press release. Do they [MultiChoice] really get their money's worth?"

"If there isn't a lot of original reporting about your brand from media or influencers at your event, something's wrong. Then you need a recalibration of your strategy. It doesn't seem as if MultiChoice got what it could have if they had corralled and managed the correct access media correctly."

ALSO READ: Blood Psalms to debut on MultiChoice's Showmax in February 2022, 'It was scary and a massive challenge,' says showrunner Layla Swart.

ALSO READ: As MultiChoice previews Showmax's Blood Psalms with a first-look viewing in Dubai the South African media take umbrage: 'Share the content with journalists who report on TV content'.

ALSO READ: TV REVIEW. MultiChoice and M-Net's 1 Night with Mzansi special done from Dubai is little more than boring puffery and yawnful paint-by-numbers programmatic content.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice and M-Net prep a 2-hour 1 Night with Mzansi live variety TV special for DStv subscribers on Sunday 17 October from the Dubai Opera House. 

Rhodes University to bestow honourary doctorate on isiXhosa news anchor Noxolo Grootboom.

by Thinus Ferreira

At its second virtual graduation ceremony for Masters and PhD students on 29 October the Rhodes University will bestow an honourary doctorate's degree on the isiXhosa news anchor Noxolo Grootboom who had to retire from the South African public broadcaster earlier this year.

Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape says that Noxolo Grootboom is recognised nationally for her significant promotion of national pride and culture through her journalistic career that spans over 37 years.

"Noxolo Grootboom's legendary status is derived from her contributions in the broadcasting industry and to South Africa as a whole, through performing her career responsibilities in ways that inspired many citizens, even during the most difficult times."

"Her uncanny ability to connect with her audience through the powerful medium of her language and drawing from her culture distinguished Mam' Noxolo as the face and voice of the nation during historic national events such as elections."

"At the height of her career, she embodied the national emotion as the anchor for the funerals of important South African figures."

Dr Siwe Mabizela, Rhodes University vice-chancellor, says "Our nation owes her an unpayable debt of gratitude and appreciation for all that she has done to give much-needed hope to many South Africans in times of national loss and despair and for being a passionate advocate of the isiXhosa language in our society".

"Mam' Noxolo read the news so beautifully and with such pride. We thought it was important for Rhodes University to acknowledge her many contributions to our society."

"Her trademark sign-off line: 'Nanga ngobubusuku ningalala nombethe ingubo yemvisiswano, uxolo, nothando. Ndinithanda nonke emakhaya' will remain her profound and lasting gift of love, peace and care to our nation. Her humility and humanity is something that will never be forgotten. She deserves this highest honour of the University."

Noxolo Grootboom was born on 8 October 1960 in Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape and spent the best part of her formative years in Tyatyorha location in Healdtown, Fort Beaufort. 

She went to do her primary school years between Healdtown Primary School in Fort Beaufort, Lovedale Primary School in Alice and Davis Primary School in Butterworth. She did her high school years in Lamplough High School and Bethel College in Butterworth.

In 1981, she moved with her siblings to Soweto, where she enrolled in a computer course at a Computer Academy.

On 1 December 1983, she joined the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) as a typist and after spending three years on the job, she was appointed as a production assistant. 

During this time, she was mentored by senior journalists as her interest at the time was storytelling. Later, she would start serving as a current affairs producer and a field journalist and later became a news anchor.

In 1990, her big break came when she was asked to stand-in for the late Mam' Thandi Mesetywa's news anchor to read a bulletin. The station was impressed enough that they asked her to continue to anchor the isiXhosa news.

She then saw this as an opportunity to continue the legacy of the broadcast stalwarts who came before her. 

As a result of being entrusted with critical broadcast events, she was known as "the undertaker" and was tasked with anchoring SABC live funeral broadcasts of some prominent leaders in the country. 

She anchored the funerals of high-profile politicians such as Chris Hani, the PAC’s Sabelo Phama, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Joe Slovo, Oliver Tambo, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Walter Sisulu, Albertina Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Steve Tshwethe and Akhumzi Jezile.

After 37 years of public broadcast service, Mam' Noxolo read her last bulletin on 30 March 2021. 

She left the SABC as an editor of the isiXhosa news bulletin and was recognised on this day by South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa, who delayed his national address during the Covid-19 pandemic since it clashed with Noxolo Grootboom's last TV news bulletin.

Noxolo Grootboom says "I feel so speechless; I am out of words to thank Rhodes University for the honour bestowed on me".

"Each event of my life is a life lesson that cannot be merely explained. Even though I had minimal opportunities to further my studies, it seemed as if my dreams about my future were perishing."

"Today, Rhodes University teaches me that hope is always ignited when it seems as though your dreams are perishing. And when that hope is ignited, it leads you to a new dream. Today, I feel like I am a living example to the youth. This is because, when you devote yourself to your work, new opportunities open up. I am very thankful to Rhodes University for this opportunity."

ALSO READ: Noxolo Grootboom's final SABC TV news bulletin is a ratings hit with a 33 share and 3.82 million viewers who tuned in to watch her TV swansong.

ALSO READ: 'Ndinithanda nonke emakhaya': The end of an era as the SABC's isiXhosa news anchor Noxolo Grootboom signs off tonight after 37 years in the industry.

Justice Malala returns to eNCA for limited late-night series, The Last Word with Justice Malala, covering South Africa's 2021 municipal elections.

by Thinus Ferreira

The political commentator Justice Malala is returning to eNCA (DStv 403) for a limited series, The Last Word with Justice Malala, to cover South Africa's upcoming 2021 municipal elections.

Justice Malala exited the South African TV news channel three years ago in July 2018 after his long-running political interview show The Justice Factor got cancelled.

eNCA is running an on-air promo for The Last Word with Justice Malala, nothing that the limited series will start today, Monday 25 October, and will run until 4 November.

The Last Word with Justice Malala has been scheduled for a 22:00-timeslot on eNCA.

eNCA issued no programming advisory or press release to the media about The Last with Justice Malala.   

ALSO READ: Justice Malala the next eNCA exit as The Justice Factor gets cancelled after nearly 10 years.

South African public broadcaster hit by yet another blackout of its SABC TV channels on Sunday - the second this month - without any explanation over the cause as it 'experience broadcast system challenges'.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Sunday night the South African public broadcaster was once again hit by an unexplained blackout of all of its SABC TV channels that lasted for well over an hour - the second SABC on-air blackout this month.

Sunday's SABC TV blackout on 24 October comes just two weeks after the SABC's TV channels also went off air in another unexplained blackout on 9 October.

The SABC gave no explanation as to the cause of its television blackout and issued no statement to the media, only saying in a social media post that the SABC blackout is related to "broadcast system challenges".

The SABC's TV channels went dark on free-to-air terrestrial broadcasting done by Sentech, as well as digital broadcasting with its TV channels also going black on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service on Sunday.

SABC TV channel viewers got a black screen with a high-pitched beep, ruining the finale of Hush Money on SABC1, amongst other shows. 

The SABC TV blackout affected literally millions of viewers in South Africa with the broadcaster that didn't want to give any explanation for its channels that abruptly went off air.

"We are experiencing broadcast system challenges on our free-to-air (FTA) television channels on linear and DStv platforms," the SABC said.

We are working around the clock to resolve the matter and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused".

Hush Money co-creator Siphosethu Tshapu, slammed the SABC TV blackout on social media as "sabotage", saying " that the SABC "is sabotaging us".

ALSO READ: SABC2 shows Muvhango in silence on Friday as the South African public broadcaster's TV channels experience a blackout on Saturday and viewers complain about the shoddy quality of SABC Sport.

'BLACK SCREEN'. MultiChoice faces ongoing barrage of customer complaints following its botched DStv app update, 'nothing works', 'was this version even tested?' angry DStv subscribers ask.

by Thinus Ferreira

DStv subscribers are complaining that they're struggling to watch and access DStv content after MultiChoice updated its streaming DStv app in mid-October with an ongoing barrage of complaints from users that they've been left with nothing but "a black screen" and that the app no longer works properly.

MultiChoice launched an update for its DStv app almost two weeks ago on 13 October and since then DStv subscribers say it's not working properly and that they're struggling to use DStv's video streaming service like they did before. 

The PR firm JR Communications that represents MultiChoice told TVwithThinus in response to a media query made last week seeking comment about the DStv app update that it would revert in due course, but didn't respond with any answers to the questions by the publication of this report this week.

The DStv app received an update to improve the user interface (UI) on its latest DStv Explora Ultra decoder, Smart TV sets and Android and Apple TV boxes.

MultiChoice said when it updated the DStv app that it had improved the user interface on these devices for "an improved viewing experience for our customers and a sleek new user interface that makes it easier for you to discover and enjoy the best in local and international content".

DStv subscribers trying to use the DStv app after the update have been left incredibly frustrated the past week and a half with daily litany of complaints across social media and on the Google Play Store about how bad the app now is from users in South African and from across the continent.

"DStv Now is not working at all," said one subscriber. "Just a black screen when I open the app. DStv fix this. You're on the verge of losing subscribers."

Another said that "We can't watch because the DStv app freezes. Live TV, Catch Up - nothing works."

"DStv, when are you going to sort the live stream jitter on the streaming? All worked well before the app update," another DStv subscriber said.

Another remarked: "The new DStv Now app is terrible. I have to reboot my media player all the time now. DStv guide when flipping between channels is hopelessly behind schedule! Was this version even tested before being pushed out to your paying customers?"

Jermyn Haripersad noted that "The DStv Now app for a Smart TV is absolutely the worst app I've used. The screen consistently goes blank with only sound playing in the background".

Lwandlolubanzi Ndebele said that "The DStv Now Smart TV and Android update has to be the worst I have ever seen. Slow, riddled with crashes and bugs. Thousands of down reviews on the Google Play Store, they don't care about customers otherwise would've done something by now. Bring back the old app DStv".

"DStv when are you going to fix this DStv app that you managed to have broken so horribly!" asked Cobus Viljoen. "At this point in time it's a useless app that doesn't work".

ALSO READ: MultiChoice upgrades DStv app user interface, subscribers can now resume playback from where they've stopped watching last.

kykNET still silent over whether its Silwerskermfees is still on or off for 2021 or what's happening with its film festival this year.

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net's Afrikaans language channels division is silent and not telling South Africa's TV and film industry or the media anything regarding either the continuation or cancellation of this year's kykNET Silwerskermfees for 2021, with the film festival that looks like it has been scrapped for the year.

kykNET didn't respond with any official answers to a media query TVwithThinus made just over a week ago asking about whether 2021 will still see a kykNET Silwerskerfees being held.

November is the only late-in-the-year month remaining for a possible film festival, with December essentially a write-off month as the film and TV industry worldwide shuts down for the silly season and vacation.

It's also unclear, if the Silwerskermfees were to take place, whether it would be in-person, a hybrid, a virtual webinar, and if it would be branded as the 10th or 11th kykNET Silwerskermfees.

In 2020 the kykNET Silwerskermfees was turned into an online webinar series in 2020 because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, with the 9th kykNET Silwerskermfees that took place as an in-person event in August 2019.

In July, responding to a similar media query about the Silwerskermfees' future in 2021, Suzaan Keyter, kykNET spokesperson told TVwithThinus that no dates have been announced yet. 

"Plans are still underway but we are keeping tabs on the unfolding situation before we make any announcements. We have several options and dates for the film festival as well as the content. Planning continues behind-the-scenes for three different options," she said.

The kykNET Silwerskermfees website at www.silwerskerm.tv lists "Tuesday 24 - Saturday 28 August 2021" - a period that came and went without anything announcement from kykNET.

The website contains no information, with no notifications or advisories for the industry about what's happening with the film festival in 2021.

Over the past half a year, various people working across South Africa's TV and film industry, from filmmakers to crew and on-screen talent who are interested in the film festival, have asked TVwithThinus what is happening with the kykNET Silwerskermfees in 2021 and whether it is still going to be taking place.

The MultiChoice Group and M-Net scrapped and cancelled plans for both the 2021 African Magic Viewers' Choice Awards in Lagos, Nigeria and the 2021 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards in Johannesburg this year because of Covid-19.

In June the 23rd 2021 Encounters South African International Documentary Festival took place as a virtual film festival.

In July the 12th Durban FilmMart took place as a virtual online event, similar to 2020, with the DFM that was followed by the 42nd Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in late July that was accessible as a free virtual event.

In May, the National Film and Video Foundation's 15th South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) returned from 2020's botched virtual online broadcast back to a televised awards show, but did so without an in-person audience. 

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