by Thinus Ferreira
After the SABC spent and wasted thousands of rands on buying liquor and hiring a pool venue in Fourways on 25 July to tell the Johannesburg media that Muvhango would restart with a new season on 5 August, SABC2 failed to start showing the new 26th season on Monday without any explanation to the press about why.
The SABC once again wasted a lot of money on an event to tell the media one thing, only for the complete opposite to happen and all that marketing and attempt at PR on 25 July to boomerang in the public broadcaster's face when what it said would happen, failed to happen on Monday and left viewers confused.
After the SABC's contract with Word of Mouth Pictures and Duma Ndlovu ran out after just half a year and 130 episodes for season 25 of Muvhango, filming stopped on 25 June this year after previous Muvhango seasons had 260 episodes - one for every weekday of a year.
The SABC eventually signed a new contract of 260 episodes to bring Muvhango back to SABC2 as a cheaper show with a younger cast for another year and a 26th season, although the SABC confusing keeps labelling it "Muvhango 27" to refer to the duration of years Muvhango has been on television since it started, instead of actual seasons.
The SABC sent no press statement, advisory or explanation to the media about Muvhango's abrupt postponement on Monday, with no reasons why, and chose not to do any pro-actively communication as a follow-up after the massive expense of 25 July's media event to tell the media that Muvhango will suddenly no longer start on Monday 5 August.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, SABC2 on Monday afternoon, suddenly said "Due to the Olympics schedule, Muvhango will start next Monday".
Instead of Olympics coverage, the SABC keeps showing Muvhango repeats.
The SABC also knew since months ago - and from long before its Muvhango event on 25 July - what its 2024 Olympic Games coverage, timeslots and schedules on the SABC's TV channels like SABC2 would be.
It means the SABC now comes across as either lying, or being incompetent in terms of planning programming, for using "Olympics coverage" as a sudden excuse for SABC2's Muvhango no-show.
The SABC didn't respond to a media query made Tuesday afternoon asking why Muvhango didn't start with season 26 on Monday 5 August as the SABC said would be the case, why the SABC didn't alert the media that Muvhango would no longer start with a new season on Monday night, and what the new date is for when new episodes might now start.
At 25 July's hastily arranged Fourways event Lala Tuku, the SABC's acting group executive for video entertainment, noted that the public broadcaster "had challenges" but managed to sign another contract for Muvhango.
Lala Tuku alluded that financial issues and ratings - the SABC is technically insolvent and Muvhango has lost millions of viewers over the past decade - are the crux that caused "a tussle" in negotiations around signing Word of Mouth Pictures to bring Muvhango back after the SABC relented and decided it wants to continue the show.
"The reality is that the SABC derives its revenue from advertising. We require audiences to choose to watch our content. The reality is we have brilliant content on our platform and we need our audiences to select it and come in."
Speaking about the decision to bring Muvhango back and to give it another contract after it was effectively cancelled, Lala Tuku said "At the end of the day it was a tussle in the negotiating room around keeping a legacy property which we all believed in. At the end of the day, it is the rands and the cents."
Jacqui Hlongwane, acting SABC2 channel head, said "We respond to what viewers say" and noted that viewer response to Muvhango no longer being on the air pushed the SABC to decide to bring it back. "We are really changing things up in this new season."
