The SABC's weekday soap 7de Laan on SABC2 will soon become the South African public broadcaster's first TV soap to stream episodes online for viewers - making it accessible for the first time to viewers globally.
While M-Net's soaps and telenovelas for the pay-TV broadcaster's supplied TV channels to MultiChoice's DStv, as well as e.tv's soaps, have been streamed and made available as video-on-demand (VOD) catch-up programming online, the SABC has lagged behind in providing viewers of its local soaps the same access.
SABC viewers either have to record episodes, watch next day repeats, or weekend omnibus broadcasts on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 of Generations - The Legacy, Muvhango, 7de Laan and Isidingo.
Now the Danie Odendaal Productions soap is creating a dedicated YouTube channel which will carry the individual soap episodes online, directly after broadcast on SABC2.
Viewers in South Africa, as well as outside of the country's borders, will be able to watch 7de Laan through YouTube, and will be able to find the YouTube channel through 7de Laan's revamped, new website.
The VOD option for 7de Laan viewers forms part of the soap's new website.
The production tells TV with Thinus the soap receives a lot of requests from people living outside of South Africa and who can't receive SABC2, to watch 7de Laan, which prompted the VOD extension.
Viewers will be able to watch any given episode of 7de Laan up to 7 days after it was first broadcast on SABC2.
