‘Skeem Saam’ loses viewers over new timeslot
‘Skeem Saam’ has lost a whopping 1.3 million viewers since switching to the new 19:30 timeslot. X users had a lot to say about it.
Skeem Saam viewership dropped on the soapie’s new 19:30 timeslot, which began on Monday, 4 March.
‘SKEEM SAAM’: LOSES VIEWERS
The SABC1 soapie, Skeem Saam viewers plunged on Monday’s episode after its move from 18:30 to 19:30 timeslot.
SABC revealed in a statement on Tuesday, 5 March that the soapie “achieved a massive historical audience rating of 3.2 million viewers last night”.
But the Broadcasting Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) reported in January that the soapie achieved 4.5 million viewers. This means the show lost 1.3 million viewers between January and March 2024.
Skeem Saam is competing with e.tv’s long running soapie, Scandal! and Mzansi Magic’s popular telenovela, My Brother’s Keeper
SABC1 Channel Head, Ofentse Thinane revealed in a statement that the SABC1 audience made a plea, requesting to change the timeslot.
Thinane added that the 18:30 timeslot was too early for some, as the show broadcasts during the travelling time for a lot of the viewers.
TV:
— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) March 5, 2024
Ratings decline for Skeem Saam in the new slot
Monday, March 5th, was the popular SABC1 soapie’s debut in a new time slot of 19h30.
While the show’s episode pulled a huge audience for the timeslot in a long time, the migration fell short of pulling its current numbers… pic.twitter.com/Yi0XNxAwSr
SOAPIE FANS RESPOND TO 19:30 TIMESLOT
@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.”