e.tv vs SABC: Monday night ratings!

Written by TVSA Team from the blog Primetime TV Viewing Figures on 05 Mar 2015
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Everyone's been waiting with bated breath to find out what happened on South African TV on Monday night (2 March) when e.tv shook up the channel's primetime line-up to take on the SABC in an all-out war for viewers.

Generations vs Ashes to Ashes

Rhythm City vs Isidingo

Who won?

The size and magnitude of the impact can now be felt. It's all in the truth of the numbers.

As you're going to see, the Ashes to Ashes premiere had a highly dramatic impact on Generations, taking a whopping 16.5% of Generations' audience share*.

On the Thursday before - 26 February before the changes happened - Generations had an audience share of 64.2% and on Monday night this dropped to 47.7%. The numbers:

	Number of viewers	Audience Share
Generations (26 February)	5, 333, 000	64.2%
Generations (2 March)	5, 201, 000	47.7%
Ashes to Ashes (2 March)	2, 173, 000	19.9%

In contrast Rhythm City didn't have the same impact on Isidingo at 19h00 but it pulled off a drama of it's own because it outperformed Isidingo when it came to numbers of viewers. It literally moved in with more people. Here's a look at the same numbers for the two shows:

	Number of viewers	Audience Share
Isidingo (26 February)	1 350 000	18.5%
Isidingo (2 March)	1,415,000	14.0%
Rhythm City (2 March)	1, 514, 000	15.1%

Interesting to note is that Isidingo didn't lose viewers as a result of Rhythm City's arrival but rather viewership increased. By a tiny amount which highlights that it didn't decrease.

Right now things are extremely even between them but it can't last because people are going to have to make choices. Which show do they prefer to watch at that time? The storylines of each are going to be a crucial component in the futures of each show. We predict dramatic activity with the numbers and that one of them will totally outperform the other by Christmas.

You'll be able to keep a close watch on what's happening between them with our weekly TAMS coverage which will be back next week. The custodianship of the TAMS ratings moved from SAARF to the BRC this year so there's been a lot of organisation that's needed to happen which has taken time - hence the delay in our regular TAMS coverage.

Keep a lookout for them!

*Audience share: The percentage of total TV viewing across a specified time interval of a given channel or programme.
**The ratings represent the Total Adult 15+ ratings.

Shows in this post: Ashes to Ashes (2015), Generations, Isidingo, Rhythm City

Channels in this post: SABC1, SABC3, e.tv

13 Comments

soapiepolice
05 Mar 2015 15:29

Now, we know

mia lerole
05 Mar 2015 23:17

Yes! Thank u.Will def keep my eyes open for more

Ms Opinionated
06 Mar 2015 08:46

Mfundi is feeling the pain, even though he will never admit it. Besides Ashes, Generation moved from 7 million viewers last year to 5 million now and there are no chances of the viewership going up.

Nunumsi
06 Mar 2015 11:14

You're right Ms Op and with Ashes to Ashes here (which other people haven't heard about yet) Generations rates are still gonna go down more.

Kem Moc
06 Mar 2015 11:41

Rhythm is running away from Skeem.. SABC must move it to the 19:00 slot, i want this stupid soap canned.

nthabisheng
06 Mar 2015 15:59

From 7 million to 5 million viewers things are not looking good at all

Show-Time
08 Mar 2015 11:07

Given that Generations - The Legacy is a reboot with a complete new cast, I'd say at this point 5 million is a good start for viewership. I have become a regular viewer since January and the show is growing on me. The storyline is clear and taking shape with each episode. I think it's premature to be preoccupied with ratings at the moment. And with new characters like Karishma coming to the fore it can only get intriguing. It took years for the original show to attract that 7 million critics are raving about. So why not allow the Legacy time to develope and blosom like what Katlego Danke said on Drum magazine lately.

Show-Time
08 Mar 2015 20:49

pardon spelling error

Show-Time
08 Mar 2015 21:08

As for Ashes to Ashes, I only viewed the first episode out of curiosity, therefore I can't say much about it except that it has a main established cast which is probably their advantage, however The Legacy has loyal fans and a reputable history behind it. In my opinion, competition is unnecessary. Why compete for the same slot and share viewership whereas you can dominate on a different time-slot?

Ms Opinionated
09 Mar 2015 11:57

@Show-Time I get your point, but Generations the Legacy was not an entirely new show in terms of viwership. We cant treat it like is was a new show, the show already had an established fanbase. People also wanted to see what was going to happen and what was the new apprach would be hence viewrship from week 1 was way up there, but it started decreasing. Another thing is the 8pm slot was almost dedicated to Generations and other broadcasters never really had the courage to challenge that. There are two threats for Generations now, people's impatience with the story line (and some of the actors) and the other option which is Ashes. Its all fair game now and we will have to wait and see what happens to determine the strenght of the soapie.

Ms Opinionated
09 Mar 2015 12:05

Etv saw a business opportunity and used it, I dont blame them. for many years Generations had been dominating and this is the one gap they got to create competition. Its only fair to us viewers to have others options to explore. I hope it works out for them, maybe in time they will make enough money to work on the quality of their productions.....shuuuuuuuu the picture and sound are just bad.

Show-Time
09 Mar 2015 13:11

I disagree with you. The established fanbase was of the original series. But when people discovered that the reboot show has a new cast and new storyline, they stayed away. Furthermore, this is not the first time e tv challenged Generations for the 8pm slot. They did that with Scandal in 2005 but it failed due to the original series' popularity. If you notice remarks made on social networks people are still pleading for the return of characters from the original show. And others tuned to etv just to see the former Gen actors. They are still hung up on the original series and it could take some time to get used to the new show.

Show-Time
09 Mar 2015 13:33

History is testament that TV reboots do not do as well as the original shows did in terms of viewership and the Dallas reboot, which unfortunately was cancelled after just 3 seasons last year, proved that fact. The first episode attracted about 7 million viewers but declined until it was canned. I think it is because viewers have high expectations for the remake show and lack patiance. I can only hope that The Legacy grows from strength to strength and avoid going the way of Dallas. But me and my family enjoy the show.

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