Uneasy Marriage Between Queen B And Top Billing
When you admire someone you are always happy for them whenever they break any boundaries or reach pinnacles of success you can only dream of. With that, upon hearing that Bonang will be joining Top Billing one got excited for her as this was yet another accomplishment that puts her head and shoulder above all her peers at this point.
It is often said that just because two entities are great and fabulous in their own right it does not always mean they would conjure the same spark if they got together. I guess that is why most relationships between two successful celebrities never work out.
The addition of Bonang came across more like a publicity stunt so naturally we looked at the numbers to see if this move will work for the show.
Has Top Billing managed to up its numbers with Our Queen B?
The evidence shows that while a moderate number of people tuned in to watch B*'s first episode majority did not return to watch the following episode.
There are factors like timeslot that could also be in play. The show does compete with ratings giant Generations on its current slot.
The latest available figures:
Top 10 Shows on SABC 3
Week 3: 14 - 20 January 2013
SHOW
|
VIEWERSHIP
|
|
1
|
Days Of Our Lives
| 1 720 000 |
2
|
Isidingo
| 1 653 000 |
3
|
Bakgat
| 1 102 000 |
4
|
Survivor
| 1 041 000 |
5
|
Nature's greatest Events
| 918 000 |
6
|
3 Talk
| 906 000 |
7
|
English News
| 905 000 |
8
|
Numb3rs
| 888 000 |
9
|
Top Billing
| 796 000 |
10
|
Heartlines
| 735 000 |
SHOW
|
VIEWERSHIP | |
1
|
Days Of Our Lives
|
1 748 000 |
2
|
Isidingo | 1 532 000 |
3
|
Harry Porter: The Order of the phoenix
|
1 202 000 |
4
| Numb3rs | 961 000 |
5
|
English News | 901 000 |
6
|
MacGyver | 841 000 |
7
|
Shoreline | 841 000 |
8
|
Survivor | 811 000 |
9
|
3 Talk | 787 000 |
10
|
Top Billing | 781 000 |
SHOW
|
VIEWERSHIP | |
1
|
Mr Bones 2
| 3 135 000 |
2
|
Isidingo
| 1 383 000 |
3
|
Days of Our Lives
| 1 276 000 |
4
|
Top Billing
| 1 204 000 |
5
|
Survivor
| 1 176 000 |
6
|
Desperate Housewives
| 1 008 000 |
7
|
Reality Bites
| 980 000 |
8
|
Interface
| 840 000 |
9
|
English News
| 836 000 |
10
|
The Middle
| 812 000 |
Judging by the figures above, in the same week last year Top Billing had more viewers than it has now. Week 47 shows that just before Bonang joined the show it was lagging in its numbers but 2 months later very little has moved the margin.
Bonang is currently presenting Clash Of The Choirs on Mzansi Magic. On that show you can clearly see that she is in her element and is having fun. She totally makes the show.
While we should all be cognoscente of the fact that a good presenter needs to be versatile and be able to adapt to any show, it is fair to note that some marriages just do not work simple because of incompatibility.
Bonang's talent and flair radiates on screen no-matter which show she is on, that's been proven, but in this case the strength of both brands collides instead of blending together effortlessly.
Bonang's talent and flair radiates on screen no-matter which show she is on, that's been proven, but in this case the strength of both brands collides instead of blending together effortlessly.
As stated HERE, Top Billing has had a bit of problems with understanding what their brand and who their core market are. One should also appreciate that the channel that the show is on has not really been doing well in recent times which has inevitably affected its shows.
There is also the issue of the few changes in the show's timeslot which has not worked well for most shows on the SABC channels' shows.
#TeamBonang need not despair though as the Queen B* we have come to love still B*dazzles on Clash of The Choirs.
