You're reading it here first.
Put this one definitely, squarly in the ''what the f- is going on at SABC2'' category: SABC2 just decided to dump the weekday soap As The World Turns, unwilling to extend the broadcasting licence period, with the soap immediately ending abruptly this coming Tuesday 28 February with its last episode at 14:10.
As The World Turns gets replaced immediately on weekdays at 14:10 on SABC2 with another cancelled show, The M'Onique Show.
SABC2 which also had press show up at an event this past Friday for the move of Morning Live to another studio, only to wait for journalists to arrive on the day and then tell them the event isn't actually happening anymore, gave no warning about As The World Turns impending doom.
SABC2 says ''the soap which started broadcasting on SABC2 in April 2010 has reached its broadcasting license period with the distributors now only availing and distributing the series online''.
What SABC2 conveniently omits to say - and didn't have to balls to communicate earlier and more effectively - is that it either knew and didn't do anything about keeping the soap, or is so incredibly incompetent that the channel waited till the last possible moment to actually tell that the soap is a gonner.
Unknown: I asked SABC2 who at this moment can't tell me where the soap is ending exactly. How quickly before the real end of As the World Turns is the soap now abruptly ending? How many months (or year) is still left and will now go unseen?
Question: Why did SABC2 buy As the World Turns, knowing how many episodes are left (since the soap already got it cancellation date by April 2010) and didn't do the easy calculation which would have told the broadcaster for what period it would have to buy and license the show?
Question: If the end of the license period for SABC2 to show As The World Turns came closer, why did SABC2 do NOTHING to speed up showing the soap, with possibly multiple new episodes per day or some other scheduling compression technique?
This is really horrific HORRIFIC bad practice by a broadcaster. You're telling your viewers subconsciously as a brand they can't really be sure of seeing the end of any show or trust you to not suddenly yank whatever off with some feebly ''license expired because our own idiocy'' excuse.
SABC2's world might still be turning, but the ludicrous channel is definitely spinning out of control on their own little planet.
