by Thinus Ferreira
The final episode of 7de Laan will be broadcast on SABC2 tonight unless the cash-strapped public broadcaster pays the millions of rands still owed to the production company which is refusing to deliver the last 10 episodes unless it gets its money.
The SABC has not responded to a media query made on Monday about the non-payment to Danie Odendaal Productions.
Insiders told me that the SABC has also not responded to any of the emails from the production company over the last few weeks pleading for communication from the broadcaster and payment for what it is due.
Danie Odendaal Productions is still owed millions of rands for what's left of the final 7de Laan season after the broadcaster decided to abruptly cancel the long-running soap in July.
The SABC which made another R1.1 billion rand loss in its latest reported financial year, is no longer able to keep shows like 7de Laan on the air despite it being the second most-watched show on SABC2 with 901 668 viewers.
When 7de Laan ends, the SABC plans to replace it in the 18:00 timeslot on SABC2 with yet another rerun of the 27-year old Afrikaans sitcom Vetkoekpaleis made in 1996, although full episodes of Vetkoekpaleis are available on YouTube.
In September the SABC caused yet another production shutdown of 7de Laan - similar to what has happened several times in the past with the show as well as other SABC productions - due to non-payment.
After an emergency SABC payment in September, production resumed on the final 45 episodes of 7de Laan.
Now the SABC has once again not paid 7de Laan, with the production withholding the final 10 episodes which are supposed to take SABC2 to 26 December when the last episode is supposed to be broadcast on the day after Christmas.
7de Laan is supposed to end with a nostalgia-filled look back at the years and characters who have shared their drama-filled lives in the fictional Hillside suburb in Johannesburg.
According to insiders close to the production, 7de Laan "is still owed millions".
According to one insider, the last episode that was delivered to the SABC is the episode which will be shown tonight, on Tuesday 12 December on SABC2. "The SABC only has one episode left," the person said who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another insider revealed that "the big concern now is that if 7de Laan delivers the last 10 episodes, Danie Odendaal Productions will find it challenging to receive payment from the SABC for closure work that has been done".
According to the person, besides payment of millions of rand outstanding, the SABC needs to sign and provide the production company with an addendum to the original contract, which is for the closure of 7de Laan, as well as the work that was done to finish off the show.
Production had already wrapped on the show that was filmed at Sasani Studios in Highlands North in Johannesburg with the sets in the studios which have been packed up and emptied out and with cartloads of items which had been donated to places like the National School of the Arts in Braampark.
I asked Danie Odendaal Productions for comment, that confirmed that it is still owed millions of rand by the SABC.
"The SABC owes us millions leading up to including the
closure of the production that was concluded on 28 November 2023 which was
the extended period needed to pack up after we wrapped filming on 27
October," the production company said in response to the media query.
"Numerous emails have been sent to the necessary parties at
the SABC but no response has been received to date. We await formal communication in response to our emails querying the outstanding
money and information from the SABC before we are able to upload the remainder
of the episodes," the company says.
The production confirmed that it is 10 episodes of 7de Laan which have not been given to SABC2 yet.
