Club 808 Makes A Big Mistake

This will probably go down in history as one of the worst decisions ever made by a TV channel in South Africa. Etv -- which has a had a knack for reading South African tv viewers’ will -- has suddenly lost the plot and moved one of its well performing shows to a slot that has plummeted it into the abyss of ratings purgatory. 

At the height of its popularity Club 808 was the number one music variety show in the country, beating its competition LIVE by a huge margin. 

Millions tuned in every Friday at 19h30 to make some noise with MoFlava and Dineo Ranaka.

OUT: Dineo Ranaka

Not anymore. Now the show can barely scrape a million viewers together as the move from its Friday slot to Saturday has pitted it against Friends Like These.  

DJ Sbu’s game show on SABC 1 has been a viewers’ favourite since its debut on Saturday 04 October 2003 (10 years ago) and does not seem to be waning. It is currently in its 11 season and holding on tightly to its spot as one of the most watched shows in the nation.

Dare I ask; who in their right mind at ETV thought Club 808 can take on such a giant? Surely someone at the channel would have known that this was a bad idea. 

IN: Thando Thabethe

As the show waddles on with a new female co- presenter, Thando Thabethe -- who joined the show after Dineo Ranaka’s departure, fans of the show I left wondering if this is the beginning of the end.

I personally have not been able to watch the show on Saturdays at that time because let's face it -- if you home there really is way too many shows to choose from at that time than having to watch music videos, which you can watch (in full) on the music channels anyway.  

The powers that be at Etv better move the show back to its original slot, if they still want to keep it relevant or simply let it go. Then again maybe that is the plan… maybe they want to can the show and needed an excuse to do so because this move to the Saturday timeslot does not make sense.