‘Uzalo’ breaks SABC viewing records

It’s no secret that SABC 1’s popular soapie Uzalo is a hit with views. It is often the most watched show on the channel but this month, the show reached it’s highest viewership ratings to date – and broke the channel’s record in the process!

In a new report released by the Broadcast Research Council of SA, Uzalo was watched by 11.4 million people on Wednesday, April 15 – retaining it’s top spot and securing the highest viewership numbers ever for the SABC.

This shows an increase of more than a million viewers from the show’s most-watched episode the month before that saw 10.29 million people tuning in on Monday March 30.

“This new record means that we are capable of so much more than what we ever dreamed of. The hard work, focus and trusting our instincts work and we should do more of that,” Uzalo executive producer Mmamitse Thibedi said.

The previous record was held by Uzalo in September 2018 when it garnered 10.25 million viewers and before that, the 10.14 million viewers that watched the opening match between South Africa and Mexico of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

“This historic television milestone is testament to the unwavering dedication to excellence and hard work that is displayed through the SABC’s partnership with Stained Glass Productions [the Uzalo production company],” acting SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo said.

“We applaud the producers, actors, actresses, and crew of Uzalo for the sterling work, they have put in, in entertaining the millions of South Africans who tune into SABC 1, to watch the nation’s number one television programme.”

Uzalo, however, has been running out of new episodes after production was shut down as the country was put into lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“Uzalo audiences are very loyal to the show, and have expressed their disappointment at the broadcast interruption. They keep saying they look forward to seeing what we have in store for them when we come back,” Thibedi said.

“For these reasons, we believe we will be able to retain our core audience thereby retaining our numbers. We’ve ensured that the measures we have to implement for the Covid-19 response are not detrimental to the story line. We will maintain high drama in the scenes and continue to thrill with our twists and turns.”

Originally appeared on People Magazine

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.