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Primetime TV Viewing Figures
TVSA TAMS coverage - airing since 2006

Top Shows on TV: January 2023

Written by TVSA Team from the blog Primetime TV Viewing Figures on 22 Feb 2023
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These are the primetime adult television viewing figures for January 2023.

If you can't see the listing below, then click this link to access them in a document instead: Top Shows on TV: January 2023
  

 
Special notes

The cruel Stage 6 loadshedding has literally destroyed the TAMS. 

January viewership for the free-to-air channels was similar to their ratings crash in December.

Viewership for DStv's top show Gomora was down by 130,000 viewers and the rest of DStv's ratings were low.

e.g. new telenovela Gqeberha: The Empire, which premiered on 16 January, attracted a meagre 413,227 viewers for its most watched episode of the month and Big Brother Titans, which premiered on 15 January, is nowhere to be seen, despite airing on Mzansi Magic, Channel 198 and Mzansi Wethu.

Ratings for last year's Big Brother Mzansi 3 weren't great: 529,041 viewers in January 2022, and 487,770 viewers in February, but this year it doesn't even appear! 

This isn't usual behaviour for Big Brother or a new primetime daily show on Mzansi Magic which emphasises that it's now become unfair to assess the performance of shows based on these Broadcast Research Council ratings.

It was Stage 6 loadshedding on the night of the Big Brother premiere and on the night that Gqeberha debuted.

As we mentioned last month, these ratings represent the number of viewers who tuned in on the night, at the time of the show, but there are viewers who would have caught up on their shows via DStv Catch Up, eVOD, SABC+ or Viu, which aren't represented in these numbers. 

Also, the baseline presumption of these Live Viewing figures is that viewers are able to tune into a show if they want to, but that doesn't exist anymore because they can't. The very essence of the hypothesis has been destroyed by loadshedding.

We'll keep publishing the TAMS for the archives but it's impossible to interpret what they mean because it isn't fair on productions.

All we can do is hold out hope that the BRC manages to find a metric to include streaming and Catch Up on PVRs in these numbers. Even then, every show is still at the mercy of loadshedding.

We reiterate: May the force be with us all.
 

If you can't see the documents above, here's an overview of the Top 5 shows per channel/broadcaster:

SABC1
 
Show Viewers
Uzalo 5,270,431
Generations: The Legacy 4,118,701
Skeem Saam 3,898,331
The Braai Show with Aka 2,393,938
Zulu News 2,198,242

SABC2
 
Show Viewers
Muvhango 1,668,135
Bone of My Bones 906,461
Kgatelopele 784,283
7De Laan 775,339
Muvhango -O 616,437

SABC3
 
Show Viewers
Taken 597,658
Maze Runner:the Death Cure 396,321
The Amazing Spiderman 2 379,683
Spider-Man 3 372,941
On Point 365,854

e.tv
 
Show Viewers
Scandal 3,908,196
House of Zwide 3,203,135
Imbewu 2,158,984
The Powerball Draw 1,931,744
Mr Bones 1,796,656

DStv
 
Show Viewers
Gomora 783,149
Isencane Lengane 625,293
Uyajola 9/9 621,234
The Queen 608,313
Sizok'thola 599,382
 
 

Please note: these ratings don't include viewership from DStv Catch Up, YouTube, Viu, eVOD or SABC+. They only reflect the viewership of people who watched on the day, at the time of broadcast.
 

For an explanation of the TAMS, please see: The TAMS Ratings Explained.
           

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



2 Comments

SipheleleMzingi
22 Feb 2023 18:27

Hi, TVSA. The document shows January 2022 ratings.

TVSA Team
22 Feb 2023 19:10

Thanks Siphelele - sorted! 


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