The SABC has abruptly pulled the ratings-battered magazine music show Zaziwa from its Sunday night timeslot of 20:30 on SABC1 to replace it with another old rebroadcast of Shaka Zulu, as the public broadcaster gets ready to media launch its new Sunday night pantsula dancers drama, Tjovitjo on Thursday in Johannesburg.
The once hugely successful Zaziwa was a SABC and SABC1 top-performer in the ratings on Thursday evenings until the SABC finally went through with moving it to Sunday nights in February this year after deciding to do it in October 2016 but scuppering the schedule change at the last minute.
Zaziwa's ratings plunged and now the SABC wants it gone from the 20:30 Sunday night timeslot following the new 20:00 drama Tjovitjo, going as far as rather scheduling the old Shaka Zulu drama for yet another repeat in prime time.
The SABC apparently plans to move Zaziwa back to a weeknight timeslot in a few months' time after the ratings-hemorrhage of more than a million viewers who abandoned the show.
On Thursday SABC1 will have a media launch in Johannesburg for Tjovitjo, produced by Puo Pha Productions' Lodi Matsetela and Vincent Moloi.
The gritty Tjovitjo filmed at Crown Mines outside Johannesburg, follows a struggling group of pantsula dancers and is the SABC's counter-programming answer for Mzansi Magic's (DStv 161) successful iNumber Number drama that recently started in the 20:00 timeslot and that Tjovitjo will try and lure viewers from.
The 26-episode Tjovitjo stars Warren Masemola as Mafred, the leader of the struggling dance group in the Tjovitjo community with as cast that includes Rapulana Seiphemo, Tebogo Chauke and Harriet Manamela.
Strangely Zaziwa will no longer be the lead-out to Tjovitjo that could have helped it gain viewers, but has been removed to make space for the 10-episode reshowing of 1986's Shaka Zulu with Henry Cele in the title role.
