e.tv on 'painful decision' to cancel Oche Media's Scandal!: 'At the end of the day this is also a business' as its June 2026 end is described as story that could 'fill 5 movies'.

Thinus Ferreira

e.tv says it was forced to cancel its expensive but diminishing primetime soap Scandal! and that while it was a difficult and "a painful decision", it had to be done since it was in the best interest of e.tv as a broadcaster.

Vuyelwa Booi, e.tv's head of local programming, spoke briefly late on Thursday afternoon at eMedia's head office in Hyde Park.

e.tv held a type of media event to mark Scandal's 5 000th episode on e.tv. This was somewhat bizarre and unusual for a cancelled show, with e.tv that only old and invited some Johannesburg media and influencers to hear what the channel and certain Scandal! creatives had to say. 

Once cancelled and with fast diminishing returns, broadcasters usually no longer invest time, resources and money in trying to publicise finished series it since it represents an unrealised return on the investment from an attention economy perspective.

After some damaging moves and decisions the past year on the sides of both e.tv and Ochre Media that ranged from scheduling and frequency changes to character changes and set and scenery updates in various attempts to try and revive Scandal! flagging fortunes, e.tv cancelled Scandal! after 26 years.

Scandal's ratings started to erode on e.tv to where it now hovers around 3 million viewers.

The Ochre Media weekday soap started in January 2005, with the final episode that will now air on 26 June 2026.

Scandal! films at Sasani Studios in Highlands North, with Stan Joseph as executive producer, Ilse van Hemert as consulting producer, Sanele Zulu as series producer and director Sphamandla Ngcobo. Around 90 people work on the show.

About cancelling Scandal!, Vuyelwa Booi, e.tv's head of local programming, on Thursday said cancelling a show like Scandal! that used to prop up e.tv's primetime schedule for many years"is never an easy decision to make".

"There are many conversations that take place over a long period of time before one gets to a very difficult decision like this."

Vuyelwa Booi acknowledged that many people are being put out of jobs with Scandal!'s axing and that "these are people with lives, with families" which are "not lost to us", but noted that "at the end of the day this is also a business".

Vuyelwa Booi said that for Scandal! "the writing started to be on the wall" - meaning that it was a local TV production with diminishing returns - and "that as a business this is where you are right now, what are the next steps that you are going to take to ensure that as a business you continue to do what you need to do, successfully".

"It was not an easy decision to make. It was a painful decision to have to make," she said.

"At the end of the day, the bottom line becomes what is the best business decision to make. It's very painful."

Grace Mahlaba, head writer and creative producer of Scandal!, said that what Ochre Media is planning for the end of Scandal! in June 2026 "is phenomenal" and that the story could "fill five movies".

e.tv and eExtra shuffle primetime line-up as Kelders moves to Isiphetho's 18:30-timeslot from 7 April

by Thinus Ferreira

From Monday 7 April after the end of Isiphetho, e.tv is changing the channel's primetime line-up, as well as the programming line-up of eExtra, with the Afrikaans telenovela Kelders van Geheime moving to the plum timeslot of 18:30.

From this coming Monday the KFilms-produced Kelders van Geheime will move from 18:00 to 18:30, with its second season starting a month from now on Monday 5 May.

With the 18:30-gap left by Isiphetho, both the e.tv and eExtra line-ups are staggered half an hour later. Dubbed telenovela Annekan Die Swa Kry at 17:00 on e.tv and eExtra moves to 17:30, with Kelders van Geheime at 18:30.

On e.tv House of Zwide, produced by Bomb Productions and Videovision Entertainment, remains at 19:00, with Ochre Moving Pictures' Scandal! that remains at 19:00 and the e.tv News that remains at 20:00.

On eExtra (DStv 195 / Openview 105) the dubbed Gelukbringers moves from 18:30 to 19:00, Doodsondes moves from 19:30 to 20:00 and Op Dun Ys moves from 20:30 to 21:00.

The new e.tv primetime line-up will now look like this:

16:30 Gelukbringers (until now at 16:00)

17:35 Annekan Die Swa Kry (until now 17:00)

18:30 Kelders van Geheime

19:00 House of Zwide

19:30 Scandal!

20:00 e.tv News

20:30 The Kingdom - Ukhakayi

21:00 Smoke & Mirrors

21:30 Isitha: The Enemy

22:00 Gold Diggers

About the Kelders van Geheime timeslot change, Vuyelwa Booi, e.tv's head of local programming, says "We hope that this timeslot will be a better fit for lovers of Kelders as a lot of viewers have been asking for it a month after the show started airing in 2024".

"With Isiphetho coming to an end on Friday, 4 April it seems to be the best time for this change."

Helga Palmer, e.tv's head of content development and strategy, says "Kelders van Geheime is a hit with viewers and this timeslot change gives them a chance to settle in comfortably before the drama kicks off".

Scandal! crew member Gary Megit dies in tragic accident after moving set on e.tv's Ochre Moving Pictures show

by Thinus Ferreira

Gary Megit (50), a crew member working on e.tv's Scandal! has died following a tragic accident after the team moved a section of the set.

Gary Megit, also known as "Gaz" and "Gazza", and who worked as a vision controller, was injured this past Friday while crew members helped to move a section of the Scandal! set and was taken to hospital.

The Arena Holdings-owned production company Ochre Moving Pictures confirmed to TVwithThinus that Gary Megit died in hospital on Sunday.

Gary Megit joined Ochre Moving Pictures in 2011, and previously worked as a vision controller at e.tv, eNCA, Stark Films, as well as Urban Brew Studios.

Stan Joseph, Ochre Moving Pictures CEO, says the team is devastated by the incident and Megit's passing. This is a time of immense sadness. Our deepest condolences go out to Gary's family."

"We are a very close-knit team on the show and are heartbroken by what's happened. Gary was a cherished member of the team and will remain in our hearts forever. We ask that Gary’s loved ones and the Scandal! team be given privacy and allowed to mourn with dignity during this painful time."

Joseph says the production team of Scandal! "places immense value and importance on the safety and security of its cast and crew".

"We take the safety of our cast and crew very seriously. This was an unforeseen and tragic accident."

SABC1’s Skeem Saam loses 1.3 million viewers in timeslot change that SABC calls 'a massive historical audience rating'.

by Thinus Ferreira

In a shocking but not unexpected move the SABC and Skeem Saam immediately lost over 1.3 million viewers on Monday night when the youth-centric series aired in its later timeslot of 19:30 on SABC1 for the first time, plunging to just 3.2 million viewers.

From Monday the SABC made drastic changes to the schedules of its three legacy terrestrial TV channels SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.

These include the SABC moving Skeem Saam later from 18:30 to 19:30, removing Afrikaans content from SABC2 and placing it on SABC3, cancelling the current affairs show Fokus, moving the Afrikaans TV news much later to 20:30 on SABC3, as well as moving Deal or No Deal SA from SABC1 to SABC2.

Advertisers and insiders warned the SABC last month that big changes to its schedules will chase away viewers, lead to lower ratings and in turn force the SABC to lower ad rates for 30 second TV commercials spots, which would lead to lower ad revenue for the public broadcaster. 

While Skeem Saam still had over 4.5 million viewers in January in its 18:30 timeslot on SABC1, the show plunged in the ratings race on Monday night in the move to 19:30 where the Peu Communications production fell to just 3.2 million viewers. That's an instant loss of 1.3 million viewers.

In the 19:30 timeslot on SABC1 where Deal or No Deal SA pulled 1.92 million viewers in January, the move of Skeem Saam gained the timeslot 1.2 million viewers. 

Ratings data is not yet available for the 18:30 timeslot on SABC1 although the broadcaster very likely lost viewers since the SABC that had Skeem Saam as an original production now filled the timeslot with repeat programming, stripping a rebroadcast of The Executives which always yields lower viewership than first-run episodes.of a series.

March viewership data is also not yet available for SABC2's 18:30 timeslot on Monday night or SABC3's 20:30 timeslot although that is likely also down since SABC3's broadcast footprint and transmission reach is the smallest of the three TV channels, meaning viewers were left behind in the migration of programming to smaller TV channels.

In a statement on Tuesday evening about Skeem Saam's viewership numbers on Monday night, the SABC says that Skeem Saam "achieved a massive historical audience rating of over 3.2 million viewers last night, 4 March 2024 when the popular drama debuted in the new timeslot of 19:30".

Ofentse Thinana, SABC1 channel head, says "As the public broadcaster we wanted to make sure that we align with the audiences and to give them what they have asked for".

"We are proud of the performance of the first night and are looking forward to more highlights and wins with the Skeem Saam move. Thank you to the SABC1 audiences for walking the journey with us!"

The SABC was asked and said it would respond about the viewership of the 18:30 timeslot on SABC1, its reaction to Skeem Saam losing viewers in the timeslot move and whether it expected the show to lose or gain viewers in the scheduling move.

ALSO READ: SABC holds showcase event about drastic content changes across its TV channels.

ALSO READ: 2014 is 2024: SABC plans to dump Afrikaans content from SABC2 with Fokus cancelled, Afrikaans news and other shows moved to smaller SABC3.

ALSO READ: SABC unplugs Primedia Studios' Deal or No Deal SA from SABC1 and shunts it to SABC2 for second season.

ALSO READ: SABC1 shifts Skeem Saam to 7:30pm from March to pit edgier youth drama against e.tv's Scandal!, 'something we will have to adjust to' says Peu Communications.

SABC1 shifts Skeem Saam to 7:30pm from March to pit edgier youth drama against e.tv's Scandal!, 'something we will have to adjust to' says Peu Communications.

by Thinus Ferreira

From March SABC1 is shifting South African television's 4th most-watched show and the South African public broadcaster's third most-watched show to 19:30, pitting Skeem Saam up against e.tv's Scandal!, with the Peu Communications production saying the extremely aggressive timeslot "is something we will have to adjust to". 

In its 12th season, the long-running youth drama series which has remained a consistent ratings buoy for the SABC and SABC1 in its early primetime timeslot of 18:30, will go up against the e.tv ratings juggernaut Scandal! in the 19:30 timeslot.

With the introduction of a human trafficking storyline, Skeem Saam with its 4.64 million viewers in December in its 18:30 berth as SABC1's third most-watched show, will now compete against Scandal!, produced by Ochre Moving Pictures and its 4.82 million viewers in December on e.tv in the 19:30 timeslot.

Since there are not really more viewers available in a given timeslot, it's likely that either Skeem Saam and SABC1 are going to shed viewers defecting to e.tv, or that Scandal! and e.tv might lose viewers to SABC1 from 4 March.

The SABC says the Skeem Saam timeslot shift is "in line with SABC Video Entertainment's strategy to amplify its primetime local drama offering to its viewers from 19:30 to 21:30 with SABC1's Skeem Saam, Generations - The Legacy, Uzalo and SABC2's Muvhango".

The SABC says the public broadcaster "will host two hours of back-to-back drama on the SABC Video Entertainment platform, intentionally targeting a broader audience and ensuring the platform remains competitive".

Skeem Saam which began in 211 was created by Winnie Serite, with the show that is set in Johannesburg and Turfloop, revolving around the "ups and downs of teenagers trying to find their way through life's struggles".

Ofentse Thinane, SABC channel head, says "For years, the SABC1 audience has made a plea, requesting to change the Skeem Saam timeslot, stating that the show timeslot is too early for some as the show broadcasts during the travelling time for a lot of the viewers".

"For SABC1, we see this as an opportunity to make the channel edgier and braver and adapt to the audience's needs. The world of television is an exciting platform where we should not be afraid to adapt while upholding our responsibility to shape the youth and societal roles."

Sumaya Petersen Mogola, Peu Communications publicity manager, says "A timeslot change in our 12th season will definitely be a big change for us and it is something we will have to adjust to".

"However, we are positive that the change will give us an opportunity to expand and reach a larger audience. We have great stories lined up, and we can't wait for our viewers to tune in."

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.

TV RATINGS October 2022: e.tv's Scandal! keeps gunning for SABC1's Generations; WINNERS: SABC2's Morning Live, Moja Love's X-Repo, e.tv with Vin Diesel LOSERS: Mzansi Magic's Idols, SABC3's The Estate, SABC2's Muvhango.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's prime-time ratings race has become a fierce two-horse competition between SABC1 and e.tv, with viewers kicking off their nightly viewing starting with e.tv's House of Zwide on e.tv at 19:00 followed by Scandal! at 19:30, then flipping the channel to SABC1's Generations at 20:00 and Uzalo at 20:30.

With prime-time ratings that steadily keep climbing, eMedia's e.tv free-to-air TV channel now has the second and fourth most-watched TV shows on South African television, with Scandal! in second place and 5 114  755 viewers in October - just 770 805 viewers away from Uzalo's 5 885 560 viewers in October as SABC1 and the country's most-watched TV programme.

Generations on SABC1 comes in third place with 4 643 191 viewers in October, but with just over 300 000 viewers difference, e.tv in fourth position with House of Zwide and its audience of 4 312 744, is now clearly gunning and trying to overtake Generations.

The TV share - the percentage of total TV sets switched on at any given moment and tuned to a specific TV channel - tells a remarkable story of how South African viewers are channel-flipping between SABC1 and e.tv to curate their own linear broadcast nightly viewing experience.

Between 19:00 and 20:00 more than 40% of all TV sets are switched to e.tv in South Africa, surging to 45% for Scandal!. Viewers then switch to SABC1 at 20:00 for the next hour to watch Generations and Uzalo, with the TV share of 43% climbing to 57% by 21:00.

Nothing else on South African television comes close to these four TV shows from SABC1 and e.tv in terms of ratings and audience share.

Zulu and Xhosa TV news shine

Skeem Saam on SABC1 lost viewers in October, luring 3.94 million, down from September's 4.17 million. While still commanding massive audiences, the Zulu TV news (down from 2.45 to 2.3 million) and the Xhosa TV news (down from 2.73 to 2.19 million) remain the two most watched TV news bulletins on South African television.

Illustrating the massive ongoing viewership decline problem that SABC2 has is that the Muvhango repeat at 08:30 in the mornings on SABC1 lures more viewers than original first-run episodes during prime time on SABC2. 

Muvhango on SABC1 grabbed 1.99 million viewers in the morning, compared to a depressing 1.579 million at 21:30 on SABC2 during prime time in October as SABC2's most-watched, but fading show.

Fooled by Love dropped from 1.879 to 1.621 million viewers in October, while The Executives fell from 1.621 to 1.588 million viewers.

Morning Live punching above its weight

The haemorrhage of SABC2's ratings continues with only Muvhango managing more than a million viewers and 10 out of the channel's top 20 shows now unable to draw more than half a million viewers.

The Afrikaans TV soap 7de Laan remained the second-most watched show on the channel during October, improving slightly from 859 016 to 908 895 viewers. Kgatelopele improved slightly from 725 658 to 771 078 viewers. The Afrikaans TV news bulletin was down from 631 325 viewers to 611 606 in October.

Morning Live remains a shining star for SABC2 - punching far above its weight in its early morning timeslot and further increasing its viewership by 94 683 in October from an already phenomenal 475 519 viewers in September to 570 202 viewers (16.5 share) in October. 

The Setswana TV news bulletin improved from 521 677 to 532 032 viewers in October while president Cyril Ramaphosa's live presidential address on 23 October had 449 769 viewers tuning in. Close to the same number - 443  929 watched an umpteenth repeat of Murder She Wrote in its 14:00-timeslot in the afternoons.

SABC3's The Estate more watched on repeat

The Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton on 8 October was the top-scorer on SABC3 with 608 491 viewers, followed by Tropika Island of Treasure with 547 990 viewers and Katlego Maboe suddenly substituted as host.

The film Rise of the Planet of the Apes was third with 546 037 viewers, followed by the English TV news bulletin at 18:00 with 509 394 viewers. 

Viewers don't watch the ratings-challenged The Estate from Clive Morris Productions in prime time on SABC3, rather watching the 11:00 repeat in the mornings with 457 703 viewers and the Saturday omnibus that lured 445 046 viewers.

The American talk show The View had 296 121 viewers, drama series Tropical Heat had 288 162, and news show On Point lured 286 416 viewers.

Vin Diesel xxxx-cellent for e.tv

On e.tv Imbewu dropped from 2.67 to 2.25 million viewers, the cancelled Durban Gen remained even from 2.56 to 2.59 million viewers, while The Black Door shed over half a million viewers, plunging from 2.5 to 1.99 million viewers.

The e.tv news at 20:00 lost audience from 1.9 to 1.6 million viewers in October.

South African viewers are "weird" when it comes to watching e.tv movies - they will watch them again and again. 

On Saturday 15 October XXX: The Return of Xander Cage drew a strong 1.64 million viewers to the 20:00-timeslot. 

You think that's it - until e.tv also slotted a repeat for the next day, with Vin Diesel again drawing another jaw-dropping 1.3 million further viewers at 14:30 with little audience drop-off. It means the film lured close to 3 million viewers for e.tv with two combined airings.

Moja Love's X-Repo surges 

On DStv in October Mzansi Magic's (DStv 166) Gomora remained atop the ratings pecking order although MultiChoice again had a month dipping below a  million DStv subscribers, going from 1 014 085 viewers in September to 997 735 in October.

Moja Love's (DStv 157) Sunday night tabloid series Uyajola 9/9 gathered viewers, growing from 876 201 to 924 859 viewers in October. 

The Queen remained flat from 661 478 to 659 211 viewers, while Idols improved somewhat for its Top 7 contestants show from 542 049 to a still-low 686 199 DStv subscribers watching on 2 October.

The River on Mzansi Magic went from 608 277 to 564 451 viewers in October, while X-Repo on Moja Love surged from 492 333 to 647 213 viewers, becoming the 6th most-watched show on DStv in the month. 

The Real Housewives of Cape Town on Mzansi Magic picked up some viewers, improving from 396 719 to 531 981 in October.

TV RATINGS June 2022: SABC2's tired Muvhango loses half a million viewers as e.tv shines brighter.

by Thinus Ferreira

Muvhango plunged by over half a million viewers in June in South Africa's TV ratings race, while SABC2 and SABC3 continued to shed thousands of viewers as the switch-off of analogue TV signals lead to a ratings surge for e.tv, and Eskom's electricity blackouts continue to damage viewership numbers across the board.

During June South Africa and SABC1's most-watched show, Uzalo, edged upwards in its 20:30-timeslot, from 5.78 million to 6.1 million viewers. June was a good month for SABC1 with its entire Top 20 shows up in the ratings.

South Africa's second most-watched show during primetime now belongs to e.tv's Scandal!, up from 4.82 million to 5.15 million viewers at its peak in June, trouncing SABC1's Generations - The Legacy in third place, up from 4.63 million to 4.95 million viewers.

Besides snagging second place, e.tv also had South Africa's fourth most-watched show in June with House of Zwide climbing from 4.52 million to 4.65 million viewers in June, with SABC1's Skeem Saam in 5th place, slightly up from 4.13 million to 4.27 million viewers. 

The rebroadcast of the Sarafina! film on Youth Day on 16 June pulled a very strong 3.96 million viewers to e.tv as the channel's third most-watched piece of content for the month.

Troubling is that Uzalo, Scandal!, Generations - The Legacy, House of Zwide and Skeem Saam were the only five shows able to pull an audience bigger than 4 million viewers, or a bigger than 10 AR (audience rating).

Also troubling is how the public broadcaster's SABC2 and SABC3 TV channels keep eroding in the TV ratings with SABC2 which only has Muvhango left as the sole show pulling more than a million viewers during June and SABC3 taking out 596 374 viewers at most during the month.

Vernacular news sought out

On SABC1 the Zulu TV news bulletin (up from 2.52 million to 2.769 million viewers in June) surged to become the most-watched TV news in South Africa in the month, with the Xhosa TV news bulletin on the channel also up from 2.69 million to 2.763 million. The Siswati TV news bulletin also increased its viewership haul from 1.88 million to 1.91 million viewers.

Selimathunzi was marginally better, up from a solid 2.1 million to 2.23 million viewers, while Ses Top La gained viewers from 1.66 million last month to 1.93 million in June. Clover Classic Celebrations grew from 2.23 million to 2.43 million viewers.

Warning lights for SABC2

A red warning light keeps flashing for a troubled SABC2 sitting with ratings equaling what SABC3 got when that channel's viewership problems started some years ago. SABC TV bosses must be aware of the worrying trend.

The channel's Venda prime time soap Muvhango is the only programme which managed to pull over a million viewers during primetime to SABC2 during June with the channel's 20th most-watched show - a repeat of SABC1's Skeem Saam on 13 June, barely scraping together 399 844 viewers. 

The Afrikaans soap 7de Laan was down from 1 040 016 viewers in May to 990 032, although Hlala Kwabafileyo edged up from 872 793 to 933 299 viewers, as did Kwa Mamazala from 644 923 to 719 792 viewers in June. 

The latest season of the Afrikaans travelogue series Voetspore also increased from 504 055 to 569 773 viewers.

The Afrikaans TV news bulletin on SABC2 added viewers from 633 687 to 716 185 viewers, as did the Setswana TV news from 525 935 to 655 202 viewers and the Venda TV news from 435 685, increasing to 439 191.

Angela Lansbury's American drama series Murder She Wrote, on repeat at 14:00 during SABC2 daytime, drew 452 865 viewers during June. SABC2's Morning Live remains the most-watched breakfast show, slightly down to 487 763 viewers from May's 492 423.

Weekend movies help SABC3

SABC3's most-watched content in June was the Twilight movie on Sunday 12 June with 596 374 viewers, followed by an episode of the BBC's natural history series Serengeti on Sunday 19 June with 587 267 viewers.

SABC3's 18:00 English TV news bulletin grew from 437 313 viewers to 539 067 in June. Weekend movies are now what's propping up SABC3's schedule with 7 out of the channel's top 20 list being American films shown during June, and 5 natural history documentaries.

The American talk show The View drew 231 647 viewers to its 15:00-timeslot on SABC3, while local talk show Unpacked with Relebogile had 241 283 during its 17:30-timeslot.

e.tv on the up and up

e.tv keeping its analogue signal transmitters on is the channel that could smile broadest in June with a ratings surge across its Top 20 most-watched shows. Are viewers no longer able to get SABC TV channels now switching to e.tv?

Besides Scandal! and House of Zwide, the cancelled Durban Gen went from 2.82 million to 2.94 million viewers in June, with Imbewu increasing from 2.32 million to 2.522 million viewers. 

The underperforming The Black Door which is undergoing a production retooling to lessen the visual sex-factor remained flat at 2.29 million (from 2.32 million in May). Is'phindiselo on Sunday nights remained steady at 1.84 million from 1.79 million the month before, while the e.tv News at 20:00 grew slightly from1.75 million to 1.9 million viewers.

The Afrikaans dubbed, Turkish telenovela Droomverlore at 17:30 grew from 1.588 million to  1.74 million, while Paramount Africa's cancelled Isono telenovela getting a free-to-air rebroadcast on e.tv snagged 2.322 million viewers in June.

Let The River run

On MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV service Mzansi Magic's (DStv 161) Gomora and a Gomora repeat are the only two shows once again managing to pull over a million DStv subscribers in June, similar to May, with 1.189 million and 1.032 million viewers who tuned in.

The Queen held steady in third place with 785 625 DStv subscribers (May: 752 068), followed by 1Magic's (DStv 103) The River in fourth place with 683 860 viewers, with Our Perfect Wedding also maintaining its 5th place from the month before with 614 625 viewers (May: 608 597). 

Umndeni on Moja Love (DStv 157) climbed from 503 442 to 605 374 viewers in June and Diep City on Mzansi Magic also held steady at 572 881 viewers (May: 581 207). 

e.tv's Scandal! marks 4000th episode milestone.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Tuesday night e.tv's Scandal! marked the 4 000th episode of the local primetime weekday soap produced by Ochre Moving Pictures. 

After almost two decades on the air, Scandal! that had 4.7 million viewers in December on e.tv and that is filmed at Sasani Studios in Highlands North in Johannesburg, has grown to become the eMedia TV channel's highest-rated show since it broadcast its first episode on 10 January 2005.

After the failure of Backstage, e.tv kept trying with the debut of Rhythm City in 2007 that lasted for 15 seasons, and the debut of Scandal! - with the success of both that eventually proved the red letter broadcaster was capable of crafting and showing mass-market daily soaps that could compete and break the stranglehold that the SABC had on wide-appeal, big audience local primetime soaps.

e.tv says that Scandal!'s 4 000 episode-milestone is "a combination of dedicated writers, producers, directors, cast and crew who have committed their efforts to creating and delivering thought-provoking stories that have made Scandal! a household show".

Grace Mahlaba, Scandal! head writer, says "Ochre is super proud of the team of brilliant professionals who have sweated blood and tears to bring 4 000 top quality episodes to South African audiences, discovering extraordinary new talents along the way".

Sanele Zulu, e.tv's Scandal! producer, says "Families have risen and fallen: the mighty Nyathis, the brilliant Langas, the ruthless Mambas and the beloved Ngemas".

"We recently refreshed our set and introduced the Kubekas to keep the storyline relevant and provide our audiences with intriguing content. We are delighted about the reaction from our viewers."

e.tv and VIU to court over streaming rights contract for Scandal! and Imbewu after online piracy fight.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv and VIU are squaring off in court today with the free-to-air commercial broadcaster and the foreign video streaming service operating in South Africa that are fighting over piracy claims that led to an alleged breach of the R38 million content licensing contract for streaming.

VIU an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, trading as PWWC Vuclip PTE Ltd, applied for an urgent court interdict in the Johannesburg High Court in a case that will be heard on Tuesday, 17 August, demanding that eMedia stops streaming e.tv's own soaps Scandal! and Imbewu on its own, just-launched video streaming service eVOD.

e.tv launched eVOD a week and a half ago but before that licensed the streaming rights of shows like Rhythm City, Scandal! and Imbewu to VIU. 

Box set episodes from season 14 of Rhythm City, season 3 and 4 of Imbewu, as well as seasons 18 and 19 of Scandal! are still available on VIU but e.tv has halted sending VIU any new further episodes or any new e.tv content.

At eVOD's media launch when TVwithThinus asked e.tv if its content will still be available on VIU, the broadcaster said that its existing shows of which Catch Up rights have been licensed to MultiChoice's DStv Now will remain accessible on that pay-TV provider's streaming service but that e.tv's content is no longer available on VIU and is being moved to eVOD.

"As our contractual obligations ride themselves out, we're consolidating our content on our OTT service which is the logical thing to do," Khalik Sherrif, eMedia Holdings CEO, said.

Sunday World reported that according to the court papers filed by VIU, the streaming service says that it acquired the exclusive streaming rights from e.tv for Scandal! and Imbewu for over R37 million on 31 December 2019 as part of a content licensing agreement that is supposed to run until 2024.

According to the terms of the contract VIU is supposed to get the back catalogue of library episodes from the series older than a year, as well as the latest episodes that collectively contributes to 20% or one-fifth of the overall revenue that VIU makes in South Africa.

Ryan Solovei, country manager and co-founder of VIU Africa, claims that e.tv allegedly abruptly cancelled the streaming content licensing contracts with VIU, after eMedia discovered that another platform, Philosopher App, was uploading pirated copies of Scandal! and Imbewu to a type of online streaming platform called Philosopher: Stream Mzansi SA Soapies.

According to Ryan Solovei, e.tv allegedly accused VIU of colluding in the piracy of e.tv's content and cancelled the content licensing deals, damaging VIU that is allegedly suffering financial harm.

"The ineluctable conclusion is that e.tv engineered a contrived cancellation of Vuclip's licensing agreements to gain access to exclusive content, which was exclusively licensed to Vuclip, but which e.tv wished to broadcast on its own platform," the court documents state.

e.tv told TVwithThinus that it stopped funneling content to VIU due to piracy concerns, that Scandal! and Imbewu is e.tv's content and confirmed that there is a case pending.

"eMedia can confirm that we are aware of the pending case and allegations made by VIU," e.tv said in response to a media enquiry.

"eMedia had a licensing agreement in place with VIU to stream the eMedia owned-programmes Scandal! and Imbewu, which it recently terminated due to piracy concerns."

"We have a responsibility to safeguard the intellectual property and integrity of our programming content, and we are acting in the best interest of all our stakeholders. Piracy threatens the livelihoods of many and we have a duty to act against it."

Ryan Solovei didn't respond to a media enquiry at the time of publishing and comment will be added here if received.

Coronavirus: Sasani Studios shudders as SABC2's 7de Laan and both of e.tv's soaps Rhythm City and Scandal! all abruptly shut down because Covid-19 positive cases under cast and crew.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Afrikaans weekday soap 7de Laan on SABC2, as well as both of e.tv's weekday soaps Rhythm City and Scandal! have abruptly shut down and ceased filming after all three independently produced primetime series had positive Covid-19 cases under cast and crew.

All three independently produced series are filmed at Sasani Studios in Highlands North, Johannesburg.

7de Laan on SABC2 produced by Danie Odendaal Productions, as well as Rhythm City produced by Quizzical Pictures and Scandal! produced by Ochre Media will continue to broadcast new episodes although the shows behind-the-scenes have all immediately halted production until further notice.

The three shows are the latest local South African TV production impacted by a new shutdown, following M-Net's The River produced by Tshedza Pictures on 1Magic on 1Magic (DStv 103), Skeem Saam on SABC1, and Word of Mouth's Venda series Muvhango on SABC2 that all shut down because of positive Covid-19 coronavirus cases.

SABC2's Lithapo series briefly also shuttered before production resumed on Monday after a possible case turned out negative but with the person still remaining in self-isolation.

The shuttering of a growing number of TV series comes after the entire South Africa film and TV industry abruptly closed in late-March for the national lockdown period which has seen the already-struggling industry shed thousands of jobs in the two months that cameras were turned off and studio doors closed.

Despite studio and on-set testing, more and more shows are forced to once again shut down as cast and crew members are getting infected.

"It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that one of our colleagues has tested positive for Covid-19," Danie Odendaal Productions told TVwithThinus Thursday afternoon in response to a media enquiry.

"For this reason and for the health and safety of everyone involved in the show, we have immediately halted production until further notice."

7de Laan says the crew member is currently in isolation. "All cast and crew members have been asked to self-quarantine while undergoing testing and following all the necessary health procedures in accordance with government legislation. During this time our offices and studios will be disinfected."

The production company says that "A challenging moment like this calls for us to continue urging all South Africans to be vigilant, to stay home, and practice all the personal hygiene and cough etiquette measures."

e.tv told TVwithThinus on Thursday afternoon that it can confirm that "positive cases of Covid-19 have been recorded on two of its weekday soapies Rhythm City and Scandal!" and that "both sets of the local production premises have been shut down and are undertaking the necessary testing for exposed cast and crew members".

"The sets have undergone deep cleaning to further minimize the risk of contamination, in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. Affected individuals are currently undergoing self-isolation until the end of the stipulated 14-day period."

e.tv says it won't release the name of the talent who've tested Covid-19 positive and that "filming will resume when it is appropriate to do so".

Coronavirus: The River and South African television's well of stockpiled new episodes of the most-watched prime time soaps will start to run out from Friday 24 April.

by Thinus Ferreira

The well of stockpiled television episodes of South Africa's most-watched prime time soaps will start to run dry from Friday.

Both public and pay-TV channels will begin to run out of available new episodes for the highest-rated shows in the country over the next couple of days and weeks because of the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus national lockdown. 

With the national shutdown in effect in South Africa that has been extended by further weeks to try and curb the spread of Covid-19, the broadcaster pantry will start to run dry from tomorrow.

That will be followed over the next few days and weeks by a cascading effect of programming changes across channels as broadcasters and pay-TV services from MultiChoice to the SABC are forced to pad their schedules with different content as new pre-recorded, locally-produced shows run out of episodes.

With the country marking record TV ratings gains during day time and prime time for South African television as families - including parents and kids - remain cloistered at home, it remains to be seen whether the massive viewership surge will hold once broadcasters are forced to schedule repeats and content viewers have already seen.

On Friday 24 April the M-Net-run channel Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) will broadcast the last new episodes of Isibaya, produced by The Bomb Shelter and the new telenovela Gomora produced by Seriti TV that have both now run out of stockpiled episodes. 

M-Net schedulers are replacing these two hours on Mzansi Magic with double episodes at 19:00 of the first season of The River, produced by Tshedza Pictures, from Monday 27 April.

Both are two of the most-watched shows on pay-TV with Gomora that lured up to 1.7 million viewers in March and Isibaya 1.003 million viewers, together with The Queen from Ferguson Films that also shut down in March that was the most-watched show on DStv last month with 2.2 million viewers.

The Queen will screen the last episode of the current season at the end of the second week of May.

While first season episodes of The River is now shown on Mzansi Magic, the telenovela that is actually in its third season with first-run episodes on the other M-Net channel, 1Magic (DStv 103), is also running out of episodes. 

The River that lured 1.165 million pay-TV subscribers in March to DStv will end on 8 May, replaced by Is'thunzi, produced by Rapid Blue.

The River has also been on a hiatus and production break because of the Covid-19 lockdown with no fourth season that has been confirmed says M-Net.

The Somizi & Mohale: The Union wedding reality limited series, produced by The BarLeader, that was exclusively produced for MultiChoice's streaming service Showmax will now pad the linear TV schedule and unspool on Mzansi Magic from 27 April at 20:00.

Similar to what international broadcasters are now doing, the M-Net programming team is also working to pad the Mzansi Magic schedule with repeat blocks of popular reality shows like Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding, both produced by Connect TV. Both series about family dates and reality weddings continue to draw huge audiences.

On 1 May the Real Housewives of Johannesburg, produced by RHOSA Productions, will start on Mzansi Magic for 14 episodes until 20 May with season 1 of Madam & Mercy taking over after that. 

"As M-Net local entertainment channels, we pride ourselves on our authentic local content and this lockdown period provides us with the perfect opportunity to share this. Viewers now have time to catch up on their favourite shows and we are excited to keep them entertained with a double dose of a drama series that has received recognition on the global stage," says Nomsa Philiso, director of M-Net local entertainment channels.

"M-Net continues to enjoy healthy relations with our content suppliers and we are all working together to ensure that our customers don't miss out on a single moment of excellent entertainment, even when production has to take a break."

"With these changes to our line-up and a host of award-winning shows, viewers can still enjoy a riveting line-up of great entertainment to make staying at home more bearable." 

SA's most-watched show out of new episodes on 8 May

On South Africa's public broadcaster, the country's most-watched prime time series, Uzalo on weekdays at 20:30 that lured over 10.29 million viewers in March will broadcast it's last new episode two weeks from now on 8 May on SABC1.

From 11 May the SABC will have to switch to repeats of old Uzalo episodes for at least a week.

The Durban-based production company Stained Glass TV remains shuttered along with others and can only resume production once the national lockdown is lifted.

"The lockdown has put production under immense 'post lockdown' pressure,' Stained Glass TV tells TViwithThinus in response to a media enquiry. 

"Pre-recorded episodes will be on-air up until 8 May, thereafter viewers should expect episode reruns while the production works determinedly to deliver more episodes per week and catch up with our delivery schedule."

"Viewers can anticipate new and exciting episodes from Monday 18 May," says the show.

This is all however contingent on production companies being allowed to open the studio doors after 30 April if the national lockdown is lifted and lifted and in heavily-affected provinces like Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

On e.tv the free-to-air commercial broadcaster still has enough stockpiled episodes of both of its local weekday soaps - Rhythm City, produced by Quizzical Pictures and Scandal! produced by Ochre Moving Pictures - as well as telenovela Imbewu done from KwaZulu-Natal by Grapevine Productions for now to stave off repeat broadcasts during prime time.

SABC2's 7de Laan, produced by Danie Odendaal Productions, currently has enough new half-hours stockpiled to last until 25 May.

Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, told TVwithThinus in response to a media enquiry that the public broadcaster has a sufficient TV soap content, will communicate when soaps run out of episodes and switch to repeats, and is in contact with production companies.

"The organisation has a sufficient soapie content offering to cover the duration of the lockdown period. The organisation has also ensured that, as part of its efforts to build resilience in its broadcasting environment, there are measures in place to ensure business continuity during this period and in the event of further extensions."

"Should future repeats of popular soaps be required, this will be communicated to the public."

"The SABC remains committed to continue to provide an essential service of broadcasting to the millions of South Africans, who rely solely on the corporation for information, education and entertainment."

Coronavirus: e.tv and kykNET soaps temporarily shutting down production for 21-day national lockdown in South Africa because of Covid-19.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv's locally-produced drama series and soaps, as well as the soaps and drama series on M-Net's kykNET (DStv 144) are now shuttering production ahead of the 21-day national shutdown in South Africa to try and minimise the rapid spread of Covid-19 cases as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to spread globally.

Mzansi Magic shuttered its HomeGround sports magazine show produced by SuperSport last week, with the talent search reality show Maak My Famous with Emo Adams that postponed in-studio audience filming of the second season season until April.

This was followed by Danie Odendaal Productions that shut down its 7de Laan weekday Afrikaans soap filmed at Sasani Studios on Tuesday. The cinema chains Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro have now also shuttered in South Africa.

Until last week all locally-produced weekday soaps seen on the SABC's SABC1 and SABC2 channels, e.tv, M-Net's 1Magic, Mzansi Magic and kykNET channels continued with production, as well as locally-produced magazine and current affairs shows.

SuperSport also continued with its locally-produced magazine and talk analysis shows, while reality shows like M-Net's second season of The Bachelor SA produced by Rapid Blue and Survivor SA: Immunity Island produced by Afrokaans for M-Net (DStv 101) and the 16th season of Idols produced by [SIC] Entertainment for Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) also remained in production.

On Wednesday kykNET told TVwithThinus that it is shutting down its Afrikaans soaps and drama series in production.

These include Binnelanders produced by Stark Productions, Suidooster produced by Gambit Films, Arendsvlei produced by Penguin Films and Getroud met Rugby produced by Overberg Productions.

kykNET says that all of its locally-produced shows "will adhere to preventative measures that have been announced by president Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday 23 March 2020".

kykNET says that the announced 21-day lockdown that will last until 16 April 2020 will not impact the current broadcast schedules of the daily dramas due to the fact that they are filmed in advance.

Reggy Moalusi, MultiChoice South Africa's executive head for corporate affairs, told TVwithThinus on Wednesday that "producers are in constant communication with the kykNET content team who are working on strategies to limit the impact of Covid-19 on the video entertainment industry, including actors, technical teams and viewers, to the absolute minimum".

Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, told TVwithThinus on Wednesday morning that e.tv is temporarily shuttering its soaps Rhythm City produced by Quizzical Pictures, Scandal! produced by Ochre Moving Pictures and Imbewu produced by Grapevine Productions, as well as other drama series as well.

e.tv said that viewers don't need to worry since the free-to-air commercial broadcaster has enough already produced episodes.

"All production companies who work on our daily dramas and soaps will not be filming during the national lockdown but will continue on-air during the national lockdown."

He said that e.tv will continue to deliver news and entertainment programming during the national lockdown period.

It's not yet clear what will happen to SuperSport's locally-produced magazine shows or M-Net's Carte Blanche. 

SuperSport was asked but referred the media enquiry to MultiChoice on Tuesday who didn't respond with any answer. M-Net said it would provide an answer later in the week. The SABC said it would answer on Wednesday.

Mzansi Magic didn't give an answer as to what's happening with the production of Idols when asked with the show that just completed the initial round of nationwide auditions to prepare for the Johannesburg first group round.

Coronavirus: SABC2's 7de Laan continues filming at Sasani Studios as the multi-show studio complex housing several e.tv and SABC1 shows takes steps to clamp down on possible Covid-19 contamination.

by Thinus Ferreira

SABC2's 7de Laan is continuing with production and filming at Sasani Studios in Johannesburg although the local Afrikaans weekday soap, other productions also making use of the large studio lot, as well as the studio management, are taking steps to clamp down on possible Covid-19 virus contamination at the complex.

Besides 7de Laan several other popular TV shows and soaps on SABC1 and e.tv are filming at Sasani Studios as well. Danie Odendaal Productions, producing 7de Laan says it is working to try and minimise the possible contamination risk of the Covid-19 virus at the studio complex.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening declared a national state of disaster in South Africa and announced drastic measures to try and curb the spread of the virus in the country, including banning gatherings of more than 100 people.

In the United States and the United Kingdom soaps and multiple other scripted drama series seen on the BBC and American broadcast networks and pay-TV channels have shuttered for the time being given the rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

7de Laan has not shut down and neither has e.tv soaps like Rhythm City or Scandal! - both filmed at Sasani Studios in Highland North in Johannesburg. The Venda soap Muvhango on SABC2 and Skeem Saam on SABC1 are also filmed here. 

SABC2 and Danie Odendaal Productions have however called off the 20th anniversary celebration "glamping" event and viewers' competition for 7de Laan that was set to take place on 25 March.

"Together with the management teams of Sasani Studios and fellow production tenants, are working collaboratively to mitigate the risk the of contamination and the spread of the Covid-19 virus," Danie Odendaal Productions told TVwithThinus on Wednesday.

"We prioritise the well-being of all our employees and business stakeholders and have therefore put in place measures that are aligned to the Covid-19 preventive guidelines of hand hygiene and cough etiquette."

"Should any incident occur that compromises this, rest assured a team is in place to deal with it efficiently."

So far M-Net's kykNET (DStv 144) has postponed the filming of the second season of its Afrikaans talent search reality competition show Maak My Famous with Emo Adams in Cape Town making use of an in-studio live audience at the Roxy Review Bar at GrandWest casino.

Meanwhile SuperSport has shuttered its HomeGround lifestyle sports magazine show co-production for Mzansi Magic (DStv 161), done from SuperSport's Randburg-based studio complex indefinitely.

The SABC told TVwithThinus that the South African public broadcaster is continuing with active local productions seen across its various channels but is postponing shows that would have started filming in April that would have made use of a live in-studio audience or in-studio performances.