It pains us to tell you this dear reader but
The Red Room has suddenly been pulled from SABC3 like a tooth attached to a door with a string.
No explanation, no apology, NOTHING.
It's more of the same nonsons that characterised the channel before it changed name to S3.
After all the fuss about the new line-up The Red Room didn't even last four episodes!
It didn't air last Friday (16 April) and as from tonight (Thursday 22 April) it's being replaced by
Orphans of a Nation, which will now air Mondays to Fridays instead of three nights a week.
SABC's scheduling department has confirmed that it's off the schedule but has given no reason as to why. They also haven't given feedback on whether or not it will return once Orphans of a Nation ends.
Which is why we're calling the channel SABC3.
If they want us to buy into the concept of a revitalised S3 then the channel
has to live up to the expectations its set up and this disrespectful move undermines it completely.
It breaks trust with viewers, it impacts on the image of other shows and it's such a huge waste of invaluable money.
It must have cost a bomb to rebrand the channel with a new name that means
nothing if the channel isn't living up to it.
And they've paid for a show they aren't airing anymore - assuming they've settled the bill that is.
TVSA readers have also been telling us about too many broadcast blunders e.g. skipped episodes of series such as NCIS and advertised movies that don't air.
The heart wrenching thing is that many people are willing to support the channel and give it a fresh chance but we can't be expected to do it indefinitely. Time is too precious.
Things HAVE to change if the SABC hopes to succeed. It's not even just about one channel - it's about the
whole.