These are the primetime adult television viewing figures for May 2023.
If you can't see the listing below, then click this link to access them in a document instead:
Top Shows on TV: May 2023
Special notes
Viewers were subjected to loadshedding every day throughout May, ranging from Stage 2 to Stage 6.
Umkhokha: The Rise
Mzansi Magic's spin-off telenovela Umkhokha: The Curse shows signs of success despite the loadshedding plague.
It made DStv's Top 5 for the first time this month, with a consistent increase in viewership since its premiere on 6 March this year.
Its audience share has doubled since then and viewership numbers have increased by a hefty 34.8%:
| Month |
Viewership |
Audience Share |
| March 2023 |
444,440 |
4% |
| April 2023 |
563,424 |
6.6% |
| May 2023 |
599,462 |
8.1% |
| Viewership increase since premiere |
+155,022 |
+4,1% |
*Audience share refers to the percentage of people who watched a show in relation to the total number of people watching TV countrywide at the time.
Gqeberha Gqeberha
Mzansi Magic's isiXhosa telenovela Gqeberha: The Empire has also been on the move since its premiere on 16 January 2023:
| Month |
Viewership |
Audience Share |
| January 2023 |
413,227 |
5.7% |
| February 2023 |
482,800 |
6.5% |
| March 2023 |
589,267 |
5.9% |
| April 2023 |
608,811 |
9,8% |
| May 2023 |
623,387 |
11,1% |
| Viewership increase since premiere |
+210,160 |
+5.4% |
Eyepopper
Contrast this with Gomora's numbers since its premiere on 30 March 2020 - during lockdown, with no loadshedding:
| Month |
Viewership |
Audience Share |
| March 2020 |
1,708,142 |
11.3% |
| May 2023 |
780,773 |
7.2% |
| Viewership decline since premiere |
- 927,369 |
- 4.1% |
The Black Door: Aftermath
See how The Black Door spin-off Isitha: The Enemy outperformed The Black Door on e.tv in its final month, with 201,141 more viewers and a higher audience share of 6.3%.
If you can't see the documents above, here's an overview of the Top 5 shows per channel/broadcaster:
SABC1
| Show |
Viewers |
| Uzalo |
5,424,116 |
| Skeem Saam |
4,764,068 |
| Generations: The Legacy |
4,511,753 |
| Zulu News |
2,730,311 |
| Uzalo Omnibus |
2,248,223 |
SABC2
| Show |
Viewers |
| Muvhango |
1,390,968 |
| 7De Laan |
987,682 |
| Ke Kgwebo Ya Ka Ye |
711,147 |
| Giyani |
692,958 |
| Muvhango -O |
691,126 |
SABC3
| Show |
Viewers |
| News |
364,667 |
| Great Parks of Africa |
347,686 |
| Premier League Chelsea vs Newcastle |
335,081 |
| The Masked Singer |
327,556 |
| Premier League Manchester United vs Wolv |
299,044 |
e.tv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Scandal |
4,678,325 |
| House of Zwide |
3,759,032 |
| Isitha - the Enemy |
2,059,514 |
| The Black Door |
1,858,373 |
| Smoke and Mirrors |
1,812,941 |
DStv
| Show |
Viewers |
| Gomora |
780,773 |
| Sizok'thola |
657,496 |
| Gqeberha:the Empire |
623,387 |
| X-Repo |
621,436 |
| Umkhokha:the Curse |
599,462 |
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.