Production Break: 'Skeem Saam' Put on Halt Due to Declining Viewership
- Mzansi SABC soapie Skeem Saam will be going on a production break starting from 1 March 2021
- The show has lost a significant number of viewers and thus has decided to take a break from shooting for a while
- Viewership began to take a dip for the soapie when some of the favourite characters departed from the show
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SABC soapie Skeem Saam is to go on a production break. The show has lost a million viewers and there are rumours in the entertainment industry that it might be axed soon. There has been a significant dip in viewership for the soapie.
Entertainment blogger Phil Mphela broke the news that Skeem Saam would be going on a production break from 1 March 2021. The SABC has told Mphela that the break will not affect the show's usual airing time.
"The SABC has duly fulfilled its contractual obligations in relation to the production of Skeem Saam. We can also confirm that there is no disruption in transmission," said an SABC spokesperson, Mmoni Seapolelo.
According to Phil Mphela, actors on the show are not going to be compensated during their time off air.
Source: Twitter
The SABC has said that they have paid for the production of the episodes but are not responsible for making sure that the actors are paid.
The show has lost a large number of viewers because a number of favourite actors left the show. Charles Maja, who played Big Boy Mabitsela, passed away in 2020 and that was when the viewership started to decline.
800 000 viewers were also lost when Lesego Marakalla departed the show to focus on her studies. She played the character of Rachel Kunutu.
Viewers are still holding on to the hope that the show might get back to its former glory.
In other Mzansi television news, Briefly.co.za reported that the SABC responded to the 7de Laan petition and aims to diversify programming. SABC has responded to a petition that has been circulating online regarding 7de Laan and its new programming slots.
7de Laan is one of the network's shows that has had its airing time slots limited. 7de Laan was moved from its usual airing of every weekday to a reduced number of only three days per week.
The petition circulating online is pushing against this decision and has fans campaigning for the show to remain in its usual slot, five days a week.
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Source: Briefly News
