Viewers Petition To Have 7de Laan Air Monday To Friday

Poor ratings cost the soapie two days off air

By  | Jan 28, 2021, 02:12 PM  | KB Motsilanyane  | Top of The

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The SABC is making major changes to it's shows and their airing days in a bid to welcome fresh new content. However like their many long running shows, viewership for their beloved 7de Laan and Muvhango has hit an all time low making many people wonder what the future of these two shows looks like.

Read more: Muvhango And 7 de Laan Airing Days Cut

“7de Laan can confirm that here has been a schedule change implemented by the SABC. 7de Laan will now broadcast three days a week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 6pm respectively on SABC 2. The change will come into effect on 5 April 2021. We wish to assure you of your unwavering commitment to continue producing relevant informative and entertaining content,” wrote the statement from the channel.

Soon after a petition came about to save their beloved 7de Laan from getting their airing days cut. Viewers might not be aware that the viewership has dropped down dismally hence the introduction of another Afrikaans show Die Sentrum, which will air on the two days 7de Laan won't be airing.

This was revealed by the SABC when the petition started getting momentum, adding that they are trying to bring in fresh new content whilst celebrating the Afrikaans community.

In statement quoted by TshisaLive the channel said they want to “increase and diversify its drama offering and provide audiences with entertaining, fresh, diverse and relevant local content.”

They also added, “This will also enable SABC2 to showcase different stories which represent the diversity of our nation. The new programme also offers more opportunities for independent producers to bring their creative works to the channel.” 

“Viewers can be assured that they will not lose 7de Laan as it will still broadcast from Monday to Wednesday.”

The petition which started 5 days ago hopes to get a total of 5 000 signatures and is currently sitting at 2 500 signatures and the numbers are steadily rising. The founder Jermain Christians says that 7de Laan being cut down to just three episodes a week is a personal attack on the Afrikaans community, "This is not just an attack on us as loyal fans and viewers but on the Afrikaans community as well. This is the soapy that thought thousands of us how to speak Afrikaans since a young age."

"This soapy is known for It's large road show campaigns to interact with fans and viewers, the soapy is also known for It's internship opportunities to help create jobs and boost the countries economy. We don't foresee 7deLaan only being on air for 3 days and later totally off from our screens, because ultimately that's what it will lead to, when viewers loses interest - we highly condemn this and will fight this fight until SABC decides to leave our soapy on air for 5 working days!"

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Picture credit: Channel 24
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