Viewers of the SABC1 soap opera Skeem Saam fell on Monday night after the show’s time slot was changed from 18:30 to 19:30.
The soap opera “achieved a massive historical audience rating of 3.2 million viewers last night,” according to a statement released by SABC on Tuesday, March 5.
However, according to January research from the Broadcasting Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA), the serial opera attracted 4.5 million viewers. This indicates that between January and March 2024, the show lost 1.3 million viewers.Skeem Saam has competition from Mzansi Magic’s hit drama My Brother’s Keeper and the long-running soap opera Scandal! on e.tv.
The SABC1 viewers begged to have the timeslot changed, according to a statement from the channel’s head, Ofentse Thinane.Since many fans watch the show while traveling, Thinane stated that others found the 18:30 schedule to be too early.Social media reacts to the decline of viewers because of the timeslot change, some users say. “It’s way too early to judge the Skeem Saam move by numbers. Migrating with 3.2 million viewers is nothing to scoff at. The show will be a formidable competition for Scandal at 19:30. Dare I say, Skeem Saam is likely to even beat Scandal? SABC, especially SABC1, has a wider pull than etv. I love TV ratings competitions, so I’m excited to see how this plays out.” @PhilMphela wrote
More fans react to timeslot change
@BonloDh: But why must there be competition 🤷🏾♂️ ppl want to watch skeemsaam then scandal. Why must we be made to choose
@MotheoLebelo: “Whoever at @SkeemSaam3 decided to change the time slot to 7:30pm. He or she didn’t do a thorough survey. No way Skeem Saam will beat @etvScandal time slot. #SkeemSaam should be taken back to 6:30pm time slot end of story.”
@Doctor_101Love: “This is the beginning of decline for Skeem Saam, the impact will be felt more in the coming months. No flipping way can @SkeemSaam3 compete, toe to toe with @etvScandal. Big mistake by moving to the newslot.”
@PRODUKT_IVY: “This new slot wasn’t made to benefit the show. After thinking hard about it. SABC execs are again trying to save Generations. They hope people watching SS won’t change the channel after the show, keeping people on their seats like eTV is doing at the moment.”