These are the primetime adult television viewing figures for April 2021.
If you can't see the listing below, then click this link to access them in a document instead:
Top Shows on TV: April 2021.
Here's an overview of the ratings for the blitz of new South African shows that debuted in April in case you can't see the document above:
| Show |
Channel |
Viewership |
| uBettina Wethu |
SABC1 |
2,540,531 |
| Shay'iround |
SABC1 |
2,500,032 |
| Aksi'Spaza |
SABC2 |
893,506 |
| Die Sentrum |
SABC2 |
854,603 |
| DiepCity |
Mzansi Magic |
779,806 |
| Abazali |
Mzansi Wethu |
724,661 |
| The Station |
Mzansi Magic |
587,986 |
| The Estate - Omnibus* |
S3 |
529 123 |
| Becoming |
Mzansi Magic |
459,362 |
Special notes
*The SABC3 document is a mess this month and completely undermines the channel in terms of accurately representing what's happening during
Primetime.
These Broadcast Research Council documents are supposed to reflect viewership for shows between 17h30 and 22h00 but, as you can see, there are seven shows that don't fall into these times. Almost half the document doesn't fall into the proper parametres!
This means that seven shows (including the daytime cricket matches) are taking the place of seven Primetime shows that should be on the list instead.
The result: Primetime viewership for The Estate hasn't been included.
We can therefore only assume that primetime epsiodes of The Estate are attracting between 1 and 399,506 viewers i.e. fewer than the last show on the list.
What this reveals is that the omnibus has a substantially larger viewership than the primetime episodes, indicating that viewers are becoming less prescriptive about the times they watch shows, especially if they clash with other shows that they're watching on weeknights.
It also indicates that people are embracing binge watching more and more.
If you can't see the documents above, here's an overview of the Top 5 shows per channel/broadcaster:
SABC1
| Show |
Viewers |
| Uzalo |
8,237,563 |
| Generations: The Legacy |
6,490,552 |
| Skeem Saam |
4,776,360 |
| Xhosa News |
3,600,343 |
| Zulu News |
3,542,430 |
SABC2
| Show |
Viewers |
| Muvhango |
4,304,240 |
| Live Lotto Draw |
1,870,889 |
| Tholwana Tsa Sethepu* |
1 338 527 |
| 7de Laan |
1,299,051 |
| Mamello |
1,107,274
|
*It's unclear what show aired in third position on Friday 23 April from 20h00 to 21h00.
The SABC2 document says one show aired but two air in the timeslot: the Setswana/Sesotho/Sepedi News and Relate 4. The document doesn't make sense of this so we've left it out.
SABC3
| Show |
Viewers |
| Black Panther |
783,061 |
| Avengers:Infinity War |
683,249 |
| Emirates Fa Cup Chelsea vs Manchester Ci |
651,979 |
| Kfc T20 International:South Africa vs Pa |
553,564 |
| Ant Man and the Wasp |
549,460 |
e.tv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Scandal |
4,799,833 |
| Rhythm City |
4,048,965 |
| Imbewu |
3,664,872 |
| Big Momma's House 2 |
3,227,485 |
| Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son |
2,845,961 |
DStv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Gomora |
1,335,466 |
| The Queen |
1,077,003 |
| The River |
930,079 |
| Our Perfect Wedding |
920,357 |
| Isibaya |
844,410
|
Please note: these ratings don't include viewership from DStv Catch Up, YouTube or Viu. They only reflect the viewership of people who watched on the night, at the time of broadcast.
For an explanation of the TAMS, please see:
The TAMS Ratings Explained.