These are the primetime adult television viewing figures for September 2023.
If you can't see the listing below, then click this link to access them in a document instead:
Top Shows on TV: September 2023
Special notes
Viewers were subjected to loadshedding ranging from Stage 1 to Stage 6 this month, with a few moments of no loadshedding in between.
New crown in town
Umkhokha: The Curse is now officially the number one show on DStv, for the first time since its debut in March this year. We don't see this changing anytime soon if the demand for the teasers is anything to go by.
Eyebrow raise
Skeem Saam and Generations: The Legacy have done a switcheroo again with Gen reclaiming its No. 2 position after being elbowed out by Skeem.
The first real world ceremony in three years
S3 outperformed Mzansi Magic again this month with the broadcast of a joint show. Last month it was with
Miss South Africa and this time with the SAFTAs.
511,796 viewers watched on S3 and 376,124 viewers tuned in on Mzansi Magic.
It happened
last year too. 414,646 viewers watched on S3 and it didn't make DStv's Top 30.
Interesting to note is that viewership was up by almost 100,000 viewers on S3 this year and audience share increased from 4.7 in 2022 to 6.4 this year, an increase of 36%.
This could be because it wasn't a virtual ceremony for the first time since the Troubles.
That said, viewership for it is still substantially down from before lockdown.
It attracted
1,444,894 viewers in 2019 when it aired on SABC2 in March that year.
Such a symbol of how brutalised we've been by Covid!
Even though it aired on SABC2 instead of S3, it still reflects what's happened to us between then and now.
Also of interest: this year's award ceremony outperformed the gushy red carpet whereas it was the other way round in 2022.
Are red carpets getting old?
If you can't see the documents above, here's an overview of the Top 5 shows per channel/broadcaster:
SABC1
| Show |
Viewers |
| Uzalo |
5,139,747 |
| Generations: The Legacy |
4,140,551 |
| Skeem Saam |
4,097,058 |
| Zulu News |
2,708,442 |
| Xhosa News |
2,458,582 |
SABC2
| Show |
Viewers |
| Muvhango |
1,227,574 |
| Rugby World Cup 2023: South Africa vs Sc |
1,099,833 |
| Rugby World Cup 2023:South Africa vs Ire |
863,166 |
| Rugby World Cup 2023: South Africa vs Ro |
838,593 |
| 7De Laan |
807,313 |
SABC3
| Show |
Viewers |
| News |
566,853 |
| Saftas Awards |
511,796 |
| Dstv Premiership Orlando Pirates vs Mame |
473,049 |
| Saftas Awards Red Carpet |
455,304 |
| Premier League West Ham United vs Manche |
406,957 |
e.tv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Scandal |
4,420,503 |
| House of Zwide |
4,142,390 |
| Sarafina |
2,888,482 |
| Isitha - the Enemy |
2,882,404 |
| Smoke and Mirrors |
2,560,859 |
DStv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Umkhokha:the Curse |
933,256 |
| Shaka Ilembe |
782,650 |
| Gqeberha:the Empire |
761,175 |
| Uyajola 9/9 |
668,354 |
| Gomora |
627,651 |
,
Please note: these ratings don't include viewership from DStv Catch Up, YouTube, Viu, eVOD or SABC+. They only reflect the viewership of people who watched on the day, at the time of broadcast.
For an explanation of the TAMS, please see:
The TAMS Ratings Explained.