Now we know why there's been such a fiasco with Glow TV's soapie Saras... it's because the channel's shutting down!
It's going dark on Thursday, 30 June on every platform: DStv, StarSat and OpenView HD.
The news comes in the wake of the abrupt interruption of Saras last month which suddenly started rebroadcasting from episode 1 instead of continuing with new episodes. TVSA received a flood of queries and complaints from fans of the show who were very upset by the termination of new episodes.
We asked Glow for comment on what's happening with the series and received a statement from the channel stating that it's being discontinued by Kagiso Media who own it. Kagiso Media own it and it's managed by Urban Brew production house.
According to the statement, it's because of money - the general economic climate, the decline of the rand and the increase in programming costs.
This from Urban Brew Studios CEO Trish Taylor:
“Glow viewers have been supportive, loyal and dedicated. They are the ones most affected by our decision. We thank our valued viewers, advertisers and the satellite platforms for their amazing support of Glow TV over the past two and a half years.
It's a sad turn of events because the channel has done a lot right since it first launched in 2013. TVSA editor Tashi Tagg wrote
a feature about the channel's positive attributes earlier this year, noting the ethical intent behind the programming and the introduction of subtitles inspired by viewer requests.
Clearly this wasn't enough to beat back increasing bills.
RIP Glow.
