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Primetime TV Viewing Figures
TVSA TAMS coverage - airing since 2006

Top Shows on TV: April 2018

Written by TVSA Team from the blog Primetime TV Viewing Figures on 09 May 2018
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These are the primetime adult television viewing figures for April 2018.

If you can't see the listing below, then click this link to access them in a document instead: Top shows on TV: April 2018

If you're unable to see the above document, this is an overview of the Top 5 shows for each channel/broadcaster:

SABC1

Show	Viewers
Uzalo	9,289,705
Generations: The Legacy	8,927,752
Skeem Saam	7,851,561
Xhosa News	4,936,883
Zulu News	4,704,747

SABC2

Show	Viewers
Muvhango	5,536,114
491 Days Book Launch	3,031,734
7de Laan	2,852,458
Lesilo Rula	2,850,782
Music	2,782,726

SABC3

Show	Viewers
Isidingo: the Need	948,254
Sunfoil Test Series:South Africa vs Aust	884,253
Tropika Island of Treasure	783,033
Wildlife Rescue Africa	775,744
The Bold and the Beautiful	629,290

e.tv

Show	Viewers
Scandal	5,480,679
Rhythm City	4,249,611
Just for Laughs Gags Filler	3,769,236
Epk:Cinderella	3,439,284
Tangled (Animation)	2,774,548

DStv

Show	Viewers
The Queen	1,493,373
Our Perfect Wedding	1,248,130
Abomama	1,090,747
Isibaya	972,853
Date My Family	922,641

For an explanation of the TAMS, please see: The TAMS ratings explained.

Channels in this post: SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, e.tv, Mzansi Magic

16 Comments

deziclesthagawd
09 May 2018 13:27

Well damn, I guess that 21:30 timeslot was a good move. I was skeptical. Congrats to them.

max85
09 May 2018 14:43

Whats happening with skeem saam...under 5million viewers ... Congrats to imbewu ...lets wait for this month to see if it is just hype

Snapple
09 May 2018 16:58

Snapple edited on
5/9/2018 5:00 PM

> Isidingo still enjoying white privilege. Those figures are embarassing. Can it!
> I thought y'all loved Tjovitjo. They almost didn't make the list.
> The Queen is growing. Congrats to the Fergies. I wanna see great storylines though. Do better!
> Scandal and Rhythm City deserve more viewers. Their consistency is top notch.
> When is Mina Nawe coming back?

deziclesthagawd
09 May 2018 18:36

I think 3 million is good for Tjovitjo on a Sunday night.

Goku
09 May 2018 18:44

I don't see Imbewu, Muvhango is still doing very and Isibaya is wasting that 20:30 timeslot it's time for change

Zondwa
09 May 2018 23:10

Oh my God what happened to Skeem Saam?? Their highest rated episode is more than 2 million less than usual. wow!

Congrats to Scandal! It's doing incredibly well... same as Rhythm City.

Why would they cancel Isidingo? It's the flagship of SABC3... their biggest show and money- maker. Cancelling it makes zero sense.

Timone
10 May 2018 09:50

Ja! when is Mina Nawe coming back? and Ayeye? (not sure if it was on Mzansi Magic or Vuzu back then)

To those who watch Imbewu, Abomama and Ingoma, do you mind giving a short review on each? Are they any good? Especially in comparison with the shows they've replaced namely Nkululeko and Ikhaya......

Timone
10 May 2018 09:53

With regard my beloved Skeem Saam I have also been put off with the recent story lines involving Kwaito and Mr Spiller, the Noah and Clement drama at school and the Mahongwa household issues. I have now found myself not minding skipping a few episode in a week whereas I used to watch it religiously up until a month ago or so.

Show-Time
10 May 2018 19:11

Not really surprised with Isibaya falling off to the second bottom of MM shows. Lately it is a dull fest. I mean, Isibaya without the popping off of gats and taxi violence isn't Isibaya. As a matter of fact, the show has been losing its spark since season one. The soapie format just doesn't suit it.

Zondwa
10 May 2018 20:52

Anyways, Congrats to Generations The Legacy. It's really doing amazingly well!!

Snapple
10 May 2018 20:56

@Zondwa how is a soapie that used to command 4 million viewers still a money maker at 900k viewers? It makes one wonder where a show that costs R40 million+ to produce per anum gets the money from. They probably get if from... now I'm getting into the politics of things. Point is, Isidingo cannot be on air. Clearly the masses are rejecting it. They need to replace it with a show that will bring in decent numbers.

Zondwa
11 May 2018 01:40

@Snapple it might be getting underwhelming ratings compared to other giants from other television stations... but it's still the biggest thing on SABC3. If they would have to cancel Isidingo with it's 1 million views a month... their next best thing would be "The Bold & The Beautiful" which is getting less than 700k a month (300k less than Isidingo).

Because of it's content, SABC3 in general, is the least popular free-to-air channel in the country with very limited reach, so you can't expect their content to get 4 million viewers daily, especially since they are competing with other huge shows from other channels. Isidingo is in direct competition with news on SABC1 and Rhythm City on etv, both of which consistently receive about 4 million viewership figures each month. There's also the hugely popular "Our Perfect Wedding" on Mzansi Magic.

I don't know how to put this but SABC 3 in general has it's content catered to "upper-middle/ upper class/ white viewers" as you can see with it's limited use of vernacular and flashy shows like Top Billing. Why do you think a show on a pay- channel like OPW get's a bigger audience than Isidingo? If Isibaya or The Queen or OPW could play on SABC3, they would get far bigger ratings, bigger than anything Isidingo has seen this decaade.

They can bring in another drama or something but it won't matter because it will heavily use English and flashy plotlines & characters who the majority of the population won't relate to... and it will flop harder than Isidingo. You should know your audience, if you want flashy tv dramas, we can get than from American television series but when we watch local content, it should feel South African.

Maybe SABC3 are fine with their figures, maybe they know that their content is catered for a specific audience and they know what they are doing. We don't really know.

TVSA Team
11 May 2018 13:08

Hi everyone - a heads-up that Skeem Saam hasn't lost millions of viewers - the top eps got 7,851,561 viewers. It's correct in the PDF document but we copied and pasted the incorrect number for the Top 5 - we had the Xhosa news number instead of Skeem Saam's so we've corrected it.

Goku... Imbewu's in position No. 6 on e.tv - it got 2,772,046 viewers for the premiere.

Snapple
11 May 2018 15:25

@Zondwa, absolutely no channel in the world ever would be content with a show that has shed over 3 million viewers in recent years. You make it seem as if the channel is obligated to keep Isidingo running. They need to research why they are losing viewership and fix wherever they can. I personally do not believe that Isidingo is salvageable. They've had 3 head writers in 4 years. Top writers couldn't save it. It's time for the show to take a bow and make way for something fresh and appealing.

If you attribute Isidingo's lackkustre numbers to time slot competition, then you should ask yourself why 3 million viewers are choosing Rhythm City instead of Isidingo. They are both free and for your information, SABC3 has a wider reach than eTV, so that excuse does not cut it. Some several years ago Isidingo was once direct competition with Scandal, and Isidingo did better than Scandal. Are you saying that SABC3 reach has since dwindled? Explain how? Leave the news out of this because when Isidingo was in it's prime at 4 million viewers, it was airing at 7.30pm in the exact same slot as the SABC1 news back then.

Competition is not new for Isidingo. Check out ratings from several years ago.

I feel you are making too many excuses for Isidingo. There is absolutely nothing flashy about Isidingo, a show that is set in the mines where majority of the cast portrays minimum wage and working class earners. Thing is, Isidingo hasn't changed with regards to their "upper middle class" appeal. They've always been that, yet they were able to garner decent viewership numbers.

I feel that the SABC has a warped sense of being indebted to Isidingo. It's doing them no favours. Sooner or later the show will have to be cancelled.

By the way, I have nothing against Isidingo. I've been a fan since forever. I flat out refuse to say when I started watching because that would reveal my age... but I can take you as far back as Boet Viljoen, Prince Dele Adewale, Abednigo Sithole, Joey Ortlepp, Jack van Onselen... yeah I think I just revealed my age lol. I used to watch it religiously until around 2013 when things REALLY went left. Actually things went bad much earlier when Scandal poached their showrunners, their best writers and directors. In fact, if you look very closely at the Scandal of today, you will see remnants of the Isidingo that was.

I hope to see something fresh and engaging very soon in the 7pm slot.

Zondwa
12 May 2018 01:17

Damn Skeem Saam is huge wow almost 8 million viewers. Is this peak television ratings right here? It'll be the first time we see three different shows garnering 8 million + viewers with Generations, Uzalo and now Skeem Saam. Incredible!

Zondwa
12 May 2018 01:54

@Snapple lol hahaha I'm not a huge fan of Isidingo myself, I started watching it in 2015 but noe I haven't seen an episode in months haha... I have no idea who those characters you've listed are hahaha.

I see,,, you've made interesting points. From the time I was watching the show, it was really engaging and I quite liked it so I don't think the storytelling is a problem per se and it still has a significant following on social media. Now on Rhythm City vs Isidingo... as i've said, people gravitate to what feels authentic, what feels real, what they would relate to. Rhythm City is set in the townships and vernac is heavily utilized more than any other soapie on SABC (except 7deLaan). As i've said, put Isibaya on SABC3 and then boom... you have 5 million viewers. Isidingo might not look fancy... but it feels like it. It's like a South African "House of Cards", looks very prestigious and clean without the need to.

I don't know, I might be in the minority but that's just how I feel.... Also, Isidingo may have good storylines but they have very weak characterization and weak acting. I don't think the actors are not good, they're just not challenged enough so I was always perplexed to see so many of their names on SAFTA list of nominees.

I don't know man, I don't really know why people are shifting away from the show. These are just my views and how I feel about the show.

The SABC may bring in another show but cancelling out Isidingo completely feels very unnecessary.

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Top Shows on TV: April 2018

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