by SAARF & MarkLives (@marklives) The week of 24 March — 30 March 2014 saw Family Bonds (Ezomdeni in Zulu) on SABC 1 entering our into one of our Top 10 positions on the SAARF/MarkLives #Top40TVratings national chart.
News in IsiZulu (SABC 1) was the most-watched news broadcast on our national chart, followed by news broadcast in IsiXhosa (SABC 1), News Headlines (SABC 1) the News on e.tv. Consumer watchdog show Speak Out, broadcast on SABC 2, was the top-rated actuality programme, coming in at number 21.
This weekly roundup of South Africa’s TV audience viewership, a collaboration between the South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF) and MarkLives, reveals the best-watched shows of the week before, where it ran and how many South Africans tuned in to watch.
We offer two tables, the first covering all households — free-to-air viewing (the various SABC channels and e.tv) as well as the DStv platform — and the second charting the best-watched shows on the DStv network of channels only.
SAARF/MarkLives #Top40TVratings Chart: 24 — 30 March 2014
National (include all households — free-to-air viewing and DStv platform)
| Market | Target | Activity | |||||
| National | Total Indv (incl guests) | Live + VOSDAL | |||||
| Counter | Description (grouped) | Channel | Level 1 | Level 2\Variable | (r) AMR % | AMR | SHR % |
| 1 | GENERATIONS | SABC 1 | Soap opera | Local | 23.6 | 10 107 951 | 71.06% |
| 2 | NGEMPELA | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 16.3 | 6 998 055 | 51.52% |
| 3 | AMAZA | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 15.5 | 6 664 795 | 48.44% |
| 4 | LOXION LYRIC | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 14.6 | 6 281 405 | 45.26% |
| 5 | MUVHANGO | SABC 2 | Drama | Drama | 12.1 | 5 196 905 | 42.60% |
| 6 | INTERSEXTIONS | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 11.4 | 4 895 283 | 38.33% |
| 7 | TASK FORCE(DRAMA) | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 10.6 | 4 567 966 | 36.97% |
| 8 | ZULU NEWS | SABC 1 | News | News | 10.2 | 4 357 487 | 32.16% |
| 9 | SCANDAL | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 10.1 | 4 329 676 | 31.89% |
| 10 | FAMILY BONDS | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 10.0 | 4 288 561 | 35.33% |
| 11 | XHOSA NEWS | SABC 1 | News | News | 9.6 | 4 118 279 | 31.84% |
| 12 | POWERBALL | SABC 2 | Variety | Variety | 9.5 | 4 068 874 | 39.09% |
| 13 | SELIMATHUNZI | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 9.4 | 4 042 797 | 30.41% |
| 14 | FRIENDS LIKE THESE | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 9.0 | 3 866 794 | 33.44% |
| 15 | RHYTHM CITY | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 9.0 | 3 854 910 | 34.52% |
| 16 | SINGLE GALZ | SABC 1 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 8.9 | 3 811 339 | 30.10% |
| 17 | ZAZIWA | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 8.5 | 3 653 846 | 28.93% |
| 18 | MR BOX OFFICE | SABC 1 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 8.0 | 3 416 423 | 27.70% |
| 19 | FAST FIVE | SABC 1 | Movies | Action/adventure | 7.5 | 3 226 313 | 36.15% |
| 20 | ORANGE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KAIZER CHIEFS VS A.S VITA CLUB | SABC 2 | Sport | Football (soccer) | 7.1 | 3 025 596 | 25.82% |
| 21 | SPEAK OUT | SABC 2 | Actuality | Actuality | 6.8 | 2 935 163 | 31.84% |
| 22 | KHUMBUL’ EKHAYA | SABC 1 | Magazine | Magazine | 6.8 | 2 895 857 | 26.22% |
| 23 | NEWS HEADLINES | SABC 1 | News | News | 6.5 | 2 791 396 | 23.14% |
| 24 | DI WELE MAKGOLELA | SABC 2 | Variety | Variety | 6.3 | 2 707 336 | 29.45% |
| 25 | EKASI OUR STORIES:DRAMA KING | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 6.3 | 2 694 522 | 23.85% |
| 26 | NEWS | e.tv | News | News | 6.1 | 2 600 896 | 21.71% |
| 27 | IMAGINE THAT | e.tv | Movies | Drama | 6.0 | 2 587 775 | 23.69% |
| 28 | WWE WRESTLING RAW | e.tv | Sport | Wrestling | 6.0 | 2 557 319 | 28.59% |
| 29 | EMZINI WEZINSIZWA -R | SABC 1 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 5.7 | 2 440 206 | 47.08% |
| 30 | MUVHANGO -R | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 5.6 | 2 418 599 | 47.58% |
| 31 | REAL GOBOZA | SABC 1 | Magazine | Magazine | 5.6 | 2 407 499 | 25.88% |
| 32 | GENERATIONS -R | SABC 1 | Soap opera | Local | 5.4 | 2 310 374 | 47.82% |
| 33 | MAN ON FIRE | e.tv | Movies | Action/adventure | 5.3 | 2 268 667 | 24.30% |
| 34 | MUVHANGO -O | SABC 2 | Drama | Drama | 5.3 | 2 266 175 | 31.76% |
| 35 | IZOSO CONNEXION | SABC 2 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 5.2 | 2 247 840 | 18.84% |
| 36 | STOKVEL | SABC 2 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 5.2 | 2 215 405 | 22.61% |
| 37 | 7DE LAAN | SABC 2 | Soap opera | Local | 5.1 | 2 186 958 | 19.70% |
| 38 | LOTTO DRAW LIVE | e.tv | Competition | Competition | 5.0 | 2 160 315 | 20.77% |
| 39 | 90 PLEIN STREET | SABC 2 | Drama | Drama | 5.0 | 2 134 482 | 25.96% |
| 40 | THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL | SABC 3 | Soap opera | International | 4.8 | 2 067 443 | 22.71% |
DStv platform only
| Market | Target | Activity | |||||
| DStv | Total Indv (incl guests) | Live + VOSDAL | |||||
| Counter | Description (grouped) | Channel | Level 1 | Level 2\Variable | (r) AMR % | AMR | SHR % |
| 1 | GENERATIONS | SABC 1 | Soap opera | Local | 16.6 | 2 244 255 | 49.48% |
| 2 | MUVHANGO | SABC 2 | Drama | Drama | 9.1 | 1 227 797 | 30.28% |
| 3 | ISIBAYA | Mzansi Magic | Variety | Variety | 8.4 | 1 128 501 | 25.31% |
| 4 | ZULU NEWS | SABC 1 | News | News | 6.4 | 858 908 | 19.82% |
| 5 | RHYTHM CITY | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 6.3 | 855 367 | 21.73% |
| 6 | SCANDAL | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 5.9 | 799 508 | 18.22% |
| 7 | NGEMPELA | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 5.7 | 773 992 | 16.95% |
| 8 | POWERBALL | SABC 2 | Variety | Variety | 5.4 | 732 544 | 20.18% |
| 9 | XHOSA NEWS | SABC 1 | News | News | 5.4 | 723 968 | 16.54% |
| 10 | BIG BROTHER SA | Mzansi Magic | Reality | Reality | 5.2 | 696 654 | 16.59% |
| 11 | LOXION LYRIC | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 5.1 | 688 770 | 15.30% |
| 12 | AMAZA | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 4.9 | 666 623 | 14.38% |
| 13 | ORANGE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KAIZER CHIEFS VS A.S VITA CLUB | SABC 2 | Sport | Football (soccer) | 4.8 | 654 243 | 15.83% |
| 14 | SPEAK OUT | SABC 2 | Actuality | Actuality | 4.7 | 638 749 | 19.96% |
| 15 | KHUMBUL’ EKHAYA | SABC 1 | Magazine | Magazine | 4.6 | 616 599 | 16.77% |
| 16 | TASK FORCE(DRAMA) | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 4.3 | 580 312 | 14.35% |
| 17 | INTERSEXTIONS | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 4.2 | 567 410 | 13.57% |
| 18 | NEWS | e.tv | News | News | 4.2 | 563 829 | 13.68% |
| 19 | SELIMATHUNZI | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 3.9 | 526 643 | 11.93% |
| 20 | SINGLE GALZ | SABC 1 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 3.8 | 516 430 | 11.89% |
| 21 | 7DE LAAN | SABC 2 | Soap opera | Local | 3.8 | 512 986 | 13.09% |
| 22 | FAMILY BONDS | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 3.6 | 490 090 | 12.66% |
| 23 | FAST FIVE | SABC 1 | Movies | Action/adventure | 3.5 | 471 167 | 14.94% |
| 24 | FRIENDS LIKE THESE | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 3.2 | 432 535 | 10.52% |
| 25 | ROCKVILLE (DRAMA) | Mzansi Magic | Drama | Drama | 3.1 | 424 407 | 10.91% |
| 26 | ZAZIWA | SABC 1 | Variety | Variety | 3.1 | 422 733 | 10.14% |
| 27 | THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL | SABC 3 | Soap opera | International | 3.1 | 421 635 | 12.15% |
| 28 | DI WELE MAKGOLELA | SABC 2 | Variety | Variety | 3.1 | 420 112 | 13.02% |
| 29 | GENERATIONS -R | SABC 1 | Soap opera | Local | 3.1 | 418 116 | 23.88% |
| 30 | MUVHANGO -R | SABC 1 | Drama | Drama | 3.1 | 414 532 | 22.59% |
| 31 | STOKVEL | SABC 2 | Sitcom | Sitcom | 3.0 | 401 948 | 12.02% |
| 32 | NUUS | SABC 2 | News | News | 2.8 | 381 315 | 9.43% |
| 33 | WWE WRESTLING RAW | e.tv | Sport | Wrestling | 2.8 | 380 441 | 10.60% |
| 34 | IMAGINE THAT | e.tv | Movies | Drama | 2.8 | 374 810 | 9.82% |
| 35 | NOOT VIR NOOT | SABC 2 | Music | Music | 2.7 | 362 714 | 8.57% |
| 36 | MAN ON FIRE | e.tv | Movies | Action/adventure | 2.4 | 329 170 | 9.99% |
| 37 | LOTTO DRAW LIVE | e.tv | Competition | Competition | 2.4 | 326 705 | 9.05% |
| 38 | EKASI OUR STORIES:DRAMA KING | e.tv | Drama | Drama | 2.4 | 320 061 | 8.26% |
| 39 | SOCCER ZONE | SABC 1 | Sport | Football (soccer) | 2.3 | 315 198 | 8.28% |
| 40 | ISIDINGO -R | SABC 1 | Soap opera | Local | 2.3 | 309 443 | 19.32% |
How to read the tables:
AMR% refers to the number of people in a target market who were watching an event ie programme, expressed as a percentage of the population for that demographic: “On average, 16.3% of adults aged 15+ who watched TV from 28 Jan-3 Feb 2014 watched Society on SABC 1”.
AMR is the number of people in a target market watching a specific event ie programme per minute, expressed in absolute figures: “On average, 1, 541, 066 adults aged 15+ who watched TV from from28 Jan-3 Feb 2014 watched Society on SABC 1”.
Share % (SHR %) is the share or proportion of the available audience (people watching TV at that time) that a specific channel/programme has achieved at that time: “Society achieved a share % of 52.59% from 28 Jan- 3 Feb 2014 on SABC 1″.
SAARF is the name by which the South African Audience Research Foundation is familiarly known. SAARF’s main objective is to direct and publish media audience and product/brand research for the benefit of its stake-holders, thereby providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of media space and time. SAARF has thus the responsibility to measure the audiences of all traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, cinema and out of home media.
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