e.tv's cancelled Nikiwe cast and crew still unpaid after months.

by Thinus Ferreira

The cast and crew of e.tv's cancelled Nikiwe are still struggling to get paid months after the show got canned and stopped production by Parental Advisory Productions which has since gone to ground.

In January TVwithThinus reported how Parental Advisory Productions co-owned by Thomas Gumede and Lungelo Radu imploded with huge amounts of debt with e.tv that cancelled the low-rated Nikiwe amidst serious financial problems inside the production and production company.

Hundreds of staffers who worked on the cancelled Nikiwe are still owed hundreds of thousands of rand in payment from Parental Advisory Productions months after the final scene was filmed.

Last year Thapelo Ramatsui, e.tv publicist, told the online publication ZiMoja that e.tv cancelled Nikiwe and the contract with Parental Advisory Productions due to the show's bad viewership and that PAP was paid what it was owed. 

The final episode of Nikiwe was broadcast on e.tv on 5 January 2024.

Cast and crew told City Press they haven't heard from either Tomas Gumede or Lungelo Radu since December 2023, with the final communication which was three days before Christmas Day in the form of an email on 22 December.

One Nikiwe actor told the newspaper "These people are failing us in that they spent the money instead of paying us. They are basically making fools out of us".

The corporate communications manager of e.tv, Bennum van Jaarsveld told City Press that Nikiwe was old news and that e.tv didn't want to comment but noted that e.tv had paid Parental Advisory Productions what the show was owed.

"It's just an old thing and we've moved on. There are so many other things happening; Nikiwe is an old story for us to comment on. Also, a lot of the stuff there was between the production and the cast, we were not involved in that."

"We had our contract and agreement with the production house and the production house had an agreement with the talent. We did what we needed to do, we met our obligations and the rest was on the production and that's where I think things sort of went wrong."

ALSO READ: Cast and crew of e.tv's cancelled Nikiwe unpaid in December and owed hundreds of thousands by Parental Advisory Productions 'left in huge amounts of debt with absolutely no notice'.

ALSO READ: e.tv cancels ratings-flop Nikiwe.

Cast and crew of e.tv's cancelled Nikiwe unpaid in December and owed hundreds of thousands by Parental Advisory Productions 'left in huge amounts of debt with absolutely no notice'.

by Thinus Ferreira  

Actors and crew who worked on e.tv's disastrous and cancelled Nikiwe, destroyed by a toxic combination of bad ratings and alleged financial mismanagement, are owed thousands of rands in payment from Parental Advisory Productions (PAP) who only got a few hundred rand in December and are taking legal action.

Hundreds of staffers who worked on the cancelled Nikiwe are owed hundreds of thousands of rand in payment from Parental Advisory Productions co-owned by Thomas Gumede and Lungelo Radu.

eMedia's e.tv channel that didn't bother with any significant publicity for the show that replaced Durban Gen and only had an amateurish and hopelessly bad media launch event for the show in April 2024, dumped Nikiwe just 8 months after it launched over bad ratings and serious allegations of financial mismanagement.

That has left the cast and crew in the precarious position where they've not been paid what they're owed for work done, and fighting to get the money they deserve.

Parental Advisory Productions didn't respond to a media query. The person who answered the number listed for the production company and on Google Maps said he is not involved with the company and to "please stop calling this number".

Thapelo Ramatsui, e.tv publicist, also didn't respond to a media query TVwithThinus made last week with questions about the disastrous e.tv production. 

 E.tv was asked whether the TV channel still owes the production company any money - which is alleged by Parental Advisory Productions - and when e.tv became aware of allegations of financial mismanagement at the show. 

Thapelo Ramatsui did respond to the online publication ZiMoja, reportedly saying that e.tv cancelled Nikiwe and the contract with Parental Advisory Productions due to the show's bad viewership and that PAP was paid what it was owed. 

 On 13 December 2023, Lungile Radu and Thomas Gumede emailed Nikiwe's cast and crew and told them they will just get a few hundred rand in payment instead of their owed money of thousands of rands.

"As explained during our meetings and subsequent correspondence, we submitted our outstanding invoiced costs as well as our wrap and notice costs to the channel for review. They have unfortunately replied that under no circumstances will the channel be releasing any additional funds to the production of Nikiwe." 

 "We have therefore engaged with legal counsel to argue our case and take it forward, however, historically these types of disputes can take a long time to resolve and there is no guarantee of a positive outcome."

"We will notify you of the progress of our legal proceedings as well as if there are any changes to the current status quo." 

 In another email the executive producers told the cast and crew in an update that "Unfortunately, the dispute with the channel is proving to be a losing battle. With all the rewrites and reshoots at their request, we find this extremely hard to believe". 

 "We have been left in huge amounts of debt with absolutely no notice." 

 "During the course of this week, we secured a small business loan and are using those funds to spread it amongst everyone.""It is nowhere near what you should be paid, but we cannot sit back and fold our arms whilst people are burning. Please understand that we are just as thrown off as you all and this is the best we can do." 

ALSO READ: e.tv cancels ratings-flop Nikiwe.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. e.tv's latest publicity failure for new local shows underscores South African television's growing PR disaster as global players (rightly) do the proper work and get the attention.

e.tv cancels ratings-flop Nikiwe.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv has cancelled its low-rated Nikiwe after just a few months after the local telenovela failed in the ratings race with too few viewers.

Nikiwe, created by Thomas Gumede and filmed in and around Soweto, launched eight months ago in mid-April with little fanfare and barely any e.tv publicity support, portraying the struggles and strife of the Radebe family empire.

Just a month after its April debut Nikiwe had already lost e.tv over 500 000 viewers.

Muzi Mthabela, a determined businessman played by Themba "Bhungane" Radebe" was the head of the wealthy Radebe family with his wife, Mirriam and three children Nikiwe, Menzi and Mandisa.

Eldest daughter Nikiwe (Lungelo Mpangase) and supposed heir to the Radebe empire was a socialite who quickly lost everything following tragedy at home and a shocking revelation that she wasn't the oldest child. 

Production on the show by Parental Advisory Productions (PAP) - written by Bongi Ndaba with Thomas Gumede and Lungile Radu as co-executive producers - has already abruptly shut down a while ago after e.tv content executives had decided to cancel the show due to its viewership underperformance.

A few months ago the show's original head writer Siposethu Tshapu was abruptly replaced by the former Generations writer Bongi Ndaba in an attempt to try and boost the ratings which fell far short of e.tv's Scandal! and House of Zwide.

Nikiwe served as the replacement for e.tv's Durban Gen which itself canned after just two seasons. With little buzz and exposure, Nikiwe suffered in the ratings and had just 1.77 million viewers in November in its 18:30 timeslot, making it only the 9th most-watched show on e.tv last month.

In response to a media query, e.tv confirmed that Nikiwe was cancelled, noting that "The local prime-time drama on e.tv will be coming to an end early 2024".

"The show launched in April 2023 and filled the 18:30 slot. Unfortunately, the show has not continued to deliver anticipated ratings. The channel continually reviews programmes and storylines to ensure we give our viewers the best local entertainment. Further information regarding the replacement show will be shared soon."

Nikiwe which will end sometime in early 2024 on e.tv and its streaming service eVOD also starred Muzi Mthabela, Clementine Mosimane, Kenneth Nkosi and Israel Matseke Zulu.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. e.tv's latest publicity failure for new local shows underscores South African television's growing PR disaster as global players (rightly) do the proper work and get the attention.

TV RATINGS April 2023: SABC1's Uzalo sheds 1.2 million viewers as e.tv loses 2.1 million viewers with new soaps and DStv's bad Big Brother Titans ends with just 340 000 viewers on Mzansi Magic.

by Thinus Ferreira

As South Africa's ongoing and debilitating electricity blackouts continue to wipe millions of TV households from the country's ratings system, Uzalo as the most-watched show in the country lost over 1.2 million viewers in April, while e.tv's two new prime-time soaps were both rating disappointments - as was M-Net's Big Brother Titans finale on Mzansi Magic.

As South Africa continues to suffer through Eskom's Stage 6 load-shedding, the Durban-produced Uzalo plunged over 1.2 million viewers in April, falling from 6.248 million viewers in March as South Africa's most-watched show in television to 5.098 million in April. 

Meanwhile, e.tv's most-watched show, Scandal! - the fourth most-watched show overall in South Africa - shed 760 036 viewers in April when it fell from 4.947 million in March to 4.187 million viewers in April.

On SABC1, Skeem Saam moved up from its third place as third most-watched show to clinch second place, surpassing Generations - The Legacy. 

Although Skeem Saam lost viewers, falling from 4.603 million to 4.328 million viewers in April, Generations lost a much bigger part of its audience, tumbling from its perennial second-place with 4.924 million to 4.194 million viewers in April.

South African TV viewers absolutely love watching the TV news in their language. The Xhosa TV news bulletin on SABC1 lured 2.39 million viewers as the most-watched TV news in the country during April, followed by the Zulu TV news bulletin on the channel with 2.23 million viewers.

Nyan Nyan was slightly down from 2.087 million to 1.84 million viewers. Primedia and Rose & Oaks' Deal or No Deal SA was also slightly down from 1.6 to 1.45 million viewers.

SABC2's Muvhango sheds 400 000 viewers

On SABC2, the Venda prime-time soap Muvhango as the channel's most-watched show shed in excess of 400 000 viewers, falling from 1.775 million to 1.366 million viewers, followed by Afrikaans soap 7de Laan that sagged from 1.109 million to 922 467 viewers in April.

Giyani eroded from 982 107 to 851 977 viewers, while the Setswana TV news bulletin was down from 776 801 to 628 976 viewers in April. The Afrikaans TV news bulletin was down from 687 421 to 663 442 viewers.

Nong Seakaladi dropped from 593 729 to 541 354 viewers, while the Mandela and De Klerk movie lured 412 173 viewers. 

Natural history docs a lure on SABC3

On SABC3 the most-watched programming in April was the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes that lured 590 918 viewers, followed by the English TV news bulletin at 18:00 with 438 732 viewers, and the local soap The Estate with 418 028 viewers at most during the month.

Viewers like watching natural history programming on S3, with Baboons: Rules of the Troop (402 646), Great Parks of Africa (383 965) and Into the Wild: Colombia (305 136) finding a receptive audience. 

The 14:30 afternoon repeat of SABC1's Deal or No Deal SA lured 272 078 viewers to SABC3.

e.tv loses viewers 

The two new prime time replacement soaps for Imbewu and Durban Gen on e.tv - Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors were both ratings disappointments, luring far fewer viewers with their debut on 17 April.

While Durban Gen still had 1 967 574 viewers in April in its 18:30 timeslot, Nikiwe only got 1 455 901 in the same timeslot last month. While Imbewu at its end grabbed 2 275 169 viewers in April, Smoke & Mirrors only got 1 712 591 viewers at most last month. 

Neither Nikiwe or Smoke & Mirrors are top 5 e.tv shows like Imbewu and Durban Gen were.

House of Zwide as e.tv's second most-watched show lost 400 000 viewers and fell from 4.085 million to 3.599 million viewers.

Besides the 760 000 viewers that Scandal! lost, the 400 000 lost viewers from House of Zwide and the combined hit of 1 074 251 fewer viewers with Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors - it means that e.tv lost over 2.1 million viewers in just a month on the red letter channel.

The Black Door was lower from 2.237 million to 1.994 million viewers, while the Gavin Hood film Tsotsi was a bright spark pulling 2.12 million viewers for e.tv on 23 April as the channel's 4th most-watched piece of programming during the month. Mama Jack lured 2.076 million viewers.

Big Brother Titans ends with little fanfare

MultiChoice saw an overall improvement during April for DStv subscriber ratings although Gomora on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as the most-watched show was slightly down from 885 304 to 863 074 viewers.

Sizok'thola on Moja Love (DStv 157) was second-most watched on pay-TV during April and up from 589 801 to 693 271 viewers, followed by Isifiso on Mzansi Magic in third place with 662 945 viewers.

Moja Love's X-Repo increased its audience from 588 547 to 628 788 viewers, while Gqeberha: The Empire improved from 589 267 to 608 811 viewers in April. The River declined from 586 939 to 540 788 viewers. Umndeni on Moja Love lost viewers, going from 458 356 to 371 607 viewers in April. 

M-Net's Big Brother Titans reality show finale was a ratings disappointment, luring only 346 252 viewers to Mzansi Magic on Sunday 2 April in the Sunday evening 19:00 timeslot.    

ALSO READ: Little publicised Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors cost and lost e.tv over 1 million viewers in April in disappointing TV ratings debut.

Little publicised Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors cost and lost e.tv over 1 million viewers in April in disappointing TV ratings debut.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv's two new local soaps Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors that replaced the cancelled Imbewu and Durban Gen appear to both be prime-time rating disappointments, making their debuts on Monday 17 April with weaker viewership than the shows they replaced and costing e.tv over a million in lost viewers. 

While Durban Gen still raked in as much as 1 967 574 viewers in April in its 18:30 timeslot before it went off the air, the little publicised Nikiwe - produced by Parental Advisory Productions - managed to pull 1 455 901 viewers at most in April after it replaced Durban Gen in the same timeslot.

It means that Nikiwe lost e.tv in excess of over half a million viewers with 511 673 viewers who have tuned out of e.tv after the end of Durban Gen. e.tv's audience share decreased from 21% to 18% - a loss of 3 percentage points - during this time period.

At 21:00 Imbewu still lured 2 275 169 viewers at most in April to e.tv in the timeslot. On 17 April the little publicised Smoke & Mirrors - produced by The Final Chapter Production - in the same timeslot, made a very disappointing debut with just 1 712 591 viewers.

That's another loss of over another half a million viewers with 562 578 people who decided to no longer watch e.tv during the time period and decreased the timeslot's audience share of the channel from 30.1% to 23.4% - a decrease of 6.7 percentage points.

Together Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors lost and cost eMedia's e.tv channel a whopping 1 074 251 viewers in the same month - a combined audience share loss of 9.7%. 

Neither Nikiwe nor Smoke & Mirrors are top 5 shows on e.tv's list of most-watched shows for April like Imbewu and Durban Gen were.

The lack of buzz and ratings for Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors are not surprising, given the lack of any real publicity efforts e.tv made to bring the new content under the media's attention and cutting out national press covering television from a bizarre Johannesburg event for the shows held just a day before their broadcast debut.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. e.tv's latest publicity failure for new local shows underscores South African television's growing PR disaster as global players (rightly) do the proper work and get the attention.