The e network of channels strikes a heavy blow to viewers again this week by ripping the popular
Gebroke Harte off-air until July.
Season 1 ended on eExtra on Friday night (25 January) and Season 2 will only air from Monday, 8 July 2019 - almost six months after Season 1!
Viewers have been reaching out to TVSA to express their despair at the situation - the same situation that struck fans of
The Girl Named Feriha, which was given the same disjointed treatment on eBella.
This from an e-mail we received from TVSA reader Nettie on Friday:
I am very upset that the series Gebroke Harte, (Season 1 now finished today) is having a break. Why do we have to wait until JULY to see Season 2??!! I was hoping it would follow on Season 1 on Monday, 28 January. Now there will be something else in its place. To wait SO long for another season is unfair. It really breaks the concentration on the story as well!!!
It's clear that eExtra has such a loyal, captivated audience for the show and the channel's throwing this away!
Audiences have avidly supported eExtra's new Afrikaans programming block and instead of being rewarded for their support with Season 2, they've been forced to stand in a long que, behind another series instead of the one they want to watch.
This set-up means the channel risks losing valuable viewership by forcing viewers to watch according to a schedule they're unhappy with.
Right now there's a guaranteed viewership for Gebroke Harte but there's no guarantee that viewers are definitely going to flock to its replacement show
Bittersoet or that they'll be back once Gebroke Harte returns in July, especially if they start watching something else on another channel at the same time.
It's the same situation with The Girl Named Feriha, which ended in October last year and will only back on 13 May 2019 - seven months after its first run!
Ultimately it seems like a poor business plan by the e network of channels who are turning away audiences that are desperate to tune into a show they've come to love.