TVSA turns 20!

Written by TVSA Team from the blog TVSA Site News on 05 May 2026
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Dearest beloved readers and members, this week marks a most auspicious occasion: the event of TVSA's 20th birthday.

Please join us in raising a toast to two decades of celebrating TV fandom!

The site first went live on Tuesday, 2 May 2006 with a frenzy of preparations behind the scenes. This is what it looked like in its first month on air, followed by an extract from the first ever published article entitled Welcome to TVSA:

Welcome to TVSA, television-lovers.

You've just landed on the hottest TV website in the southern hemisphere - a brand new, monster resource for anyone who takes their television viewing as seriously as we do.

South Africans have never had one all-encompassing TV-related website. All the broadcasters and channels have websites but up until now there hasn't been one single TV resource covering ALL channels and shows.

Whether you're a hardcore couch potato, an occasional sport watcher or a researcher looking for television-related information, TVSA has something for everyone.

TVSA was developed to serve this need, and from these humble beginnings the beast shall grow.

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And the beast has indeed grown...

The 1,000th person registered as a member of the site four months after the launch - on Monday 25 September 2006 - and today we have a membership of 190,000 members.

We now have a total of 5,800 show pages and 18,000 actor profiles in what has become the world's largest database of South African shows and actors.

TVSA popularised TV fandom in the country by establishing the first community of local TV fans who had a dedicated proudly South African place to gather for the first time.

We also pioneered pop culture blogging in South Africa, first with our precursor website TashiTagg.com and then with TVSA where we showcased the writings and opinions of TV lovers from around the country.

We popularised the TAMS TV Ratings by being the first publication to publish them weekly and then monthly.

Even though these have now been retired because of changes made by the BRC, they made a dramatic impact, reflecting the truth about the TV landscape in numbers.

Take a blast to the past and be intrigued by taking a look at our very first TAMS article here: Week 30: 17 - 23 July 2006.

TVSA was also the first publication to introduce monthly soapie teasers, which have also turned into a phenomenon.

We've had many objectives over the past 20 years which we've consistently strived to achieve but at the centre of them has been one essential goal: sincerity, inspired by beat poet Jack Kerouac who says (very sincerely): "I wanna be sincere."

To end with, this was our original philosophy posted on our About page when the site launched:

The purpose of this website is to provide South African television audiences with a "TV Companion" - a place where they can discuss, read about, be kept up to date on and relive their television viewing experience on a 24/7 basis.

South Africa's television channels all have their own websites but previously there was no central place for TV-lovers to gather and share their passion for the silver screen, in a total TV environment.

TVSA is also a tool for channels and broadcasters to make use of in order to remain dedicated to providing the best possible entertainment for South Africans.

TVSA aims to keep the television experience alive long after the credits have run their course.

And nothing has changed.

Together with you and your voices, we've created an historical archive of South African television over the past 20 years which will live on... forever.

4 Comments

SipheleleMzingi
05 May 2026 23:40

Happy birthday TVSA team. You are our national treasure. What a milestone you've reached. Wishing for you for longevity and more continued success.

Insidus
06 May 2026 09:57

Congrats

charmed_dude
06 May 2026 10:39

charmed_dude edited on
5/6/2026 10:40 AM

Wow, a decade or TWO flies when you're having fun!

HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks for TVSA to the amazing team that for two decades have been giving TV lovers in SA a place to enjoy the scoop and ins and out of the magical world of TV!

Tashi and Luke created a vision to unifiy TV lovers and all the amazing mods over the years and content creators contributing to this incredible community - thank you for all the tiresome efforts!

Fun fact - TVSA is reaching older than the average South African soapie which normally hits the axe around it's second decade (here's looking at you 7de Laan, O.G. Gen, Isidingo, Scandal). While these titles may have come and gone in our lives, I am so happy TVSA continues to evolve, grow and build itself after two decades!

What a feat, and a huge milestone in my daily life with the first website I scour with my morning coffee with my fellow TV lovers!

Happy 20th TVSA, and to many many more years of being the entertainment we needed online for our local screens!

Lots of love to Tashi and Luke on this incredible milestone!