This is it. The first impression of what happened on Monday 4 March when Skeem Saam moved to 19h30 after airing at 18h30 for the past nine years.
According to the SABC, 3.2-million viewers tuned into the new timeslot.
That's a whopping 1.3-million viewers down on
its most watched episode in January, which had a viewership of 4,508,846 with an audience share
* of 41.9.
They haven't released the audience share for Monday but that will be available in the March TAMS.
And e.tv's been quiet about what happened with eyeballs on the Scandal! front.
Things to lookout for next:
1. The impact of the move on Skeem Saam's Sunday Omnibus which was in the channel's 11th spot in January with a viewership of 1,707,751. Will this increase?
2. The audience share for both Skeem Saam and Scandal! in the 19h30 timeslot. Scandal! audience share in January was 38.9 with 4,627,403 viewers for its most watched episode.
3. We know that viewership usually increases on new shows. Will this happen with Skeem Saam too once people become accustomed to the new time?
This is the SABC's full "historical" statement:
SABC1 is excited to share that the daily drama Skeem Saam, produced by Peu Communications, achieved a massive historical audience rating of over 3.2 million viewers last night, 4 March 2024 when the popular drama debuted in the new timeslot of 19:30.
The move to a new timeslot was announced by the channel in January 2024, and the change kicked off last night with plots ranging from Leeto discovering that his friend Bullet has been lying to him, Jacobeth accusing Magongwa of witchcraft after being hit by a truck in front of his gate and Sthoko offering to cook dinner for Babeile and Lewatle, is there a new romance on the card in Turfloop?
Skeem Saam promises to continue delivering high quality and intriguing storylines, introducing a new face in April, but the viewers will have to wait and see who joins the Skeem Saam family next. The battle between Lehasa and Khwezi intensifies and there is hope for Pretty as she might have found the perfect firm to finish her articles.
“As the Public Broadcaster we wanted to make sure that we align with the audiences and to give them what they have asked for. We are proud of the performance of the first night and are looking forward to more highlights and wins with the Skeem Saam move. Thank you to the SABC1 audiences for walking the journey with us!” – SABC1 Channel Head – Ofentse Thinane.
*Audience share refers to the percentage of people who watched a show in relation to the total number of people watching TV countrywide at the time.