by Thinus Ferreira
Furious 7de Laan fans will protest this coming Thursday over the SABC's shocking decision to cancel the long-running SABC2 soap with a petition which will be handed to SABC executives demanding that the public broadcaster keep the show on the air.
The 7de Laan MyNou - Amptelik group, which has more than half a million followers on Facebook, is organising a public protest for 28 September at 10:00 at Campus Square Auckland Park in Johannesburg saying that 7de Laan "cannot pay for corruption at the SABC".
The public protest against the SABC's cancellation of 7de Laan will be supported by the GOOD political party.
The SABC abruptly cancelled the Danie Odendaal Productions show in July, saying that it can no longer pay to keep SABC2's second most-watched show on the air, with the final episodes being filmed until 24 October at Sasani Studios in Johannesburg.
The final 7de Laan episode is set to air on SABC2 the day after Christmas - 26 December.
7de Laan was forced to shut down production earlier this month for three days over non-payment from the SABC.
The SABC made another partial payment after news of the production shutdown became known, but the broadcaster still owes Danie Odendaal Productions millions of rand. The SABC posted another annual loss of R1.1 billion for the 2022/2023 financial year.
According to the SABC, 7de Laan needs double the viewers and should cost half the money the production costs to make, to remain on the air.
7de Laan had 1.052 million viewers in August on SABC2. That was more viewers than anything watched on MultiChoice's DStv last month, as well as more viewers and a higher TV ratings and audience share than anything watched on SABC3 last month
According to Caroline Phalakatshela, SABC publicist, "We have received news about a petition but the decision taken is a business decision aligned to audience viewership and the financial state of the business".
"The fact that SABC2 cannot afford to continue carrying a drama such as 7de Laan due to the accumulative costs and the dropped viewership numbers still remains. The show would need to double in audience numbers and also drop in the production costs to realise a positive return on investment. This we don’t see happening in the next few months as the channel has been monitoring this programme for the past years."
A "Red 7de Laan" petition on change.org has racked up over 38 000 signatories and comments by Monday since it was started in July by Jermaine Christians, urging the SABC to renew 7de Laan, and saying that its cancellation would lead to job losses, and that "shutting the door of an award-winning soap with millions of viewers doesn't make sense".
Kayleen Bessit, 7de Laan publicist, told me that the show is aware of the public protest action being planned over the SABC's cancellation of the show.
"The planned protest of 7de Laan fans shows 7de Laan's significant impact on South Africa. We're deeply touched by their determination and conviction to get the SABC to reverse its cancellation decision and immensely thankful for the unwavering support of all the fans."
SABC's cutting down of shows not the way to go
In response to a media query about 7de Laan's cancellation, the SOS Coalition, a public pressure group supporting public broadcasting in South Africa, told TVwithThinus that the "SABC's audience growth is dependent on compelling content that speaks to the needs and interests of the people of South Africa".
"Good and quality locally produced shows are the only way it will be able to retain a good audience base that will also be beneficial for increasing revenue - given that advertising is the only stream that is currently sustaining the SABC," says Uyanda Siyotula, SOS Coalition national coordinator.
"The cutting down of shows that showcase South Africa's diversity and build social cohesion is not the way to go. The SABC needs to reappropriate its budgeting accordingly. More money needs to be invested into the production of local content. Currently, that is not the case - salaries have a bigger budget than content."
"Commercial and community broadcasters, pay-TV and on-demand platforms are competing for the same audiences and also produce local content. If these audiences leave the SABC, there is no coming back. It is not ideal for the SABC to be cutting down on shows that set it apart."
"If the SABC continues on this trail it will risk losing the loyal viewers that it has. Once the SABC loses more viewers, it will plunge into an even bigger loss. This will also indicate failure to deliver on its mandate as this show brings people of different ethnic groups and races together".
