BAD MOVE | Etv Sabotages Khanyi Mbau With Timeslot Change

Etv is at it again changing shows timeslots without thinking about the implications for the brand. The latest changes as will be announced tonight, will have dire consequences in my opinion and Khanyi's talkshow will be the first casualty. 

Upon preparing to cover Etv's winter lineup announcement which will be held tonight I came across information that one of the biggest announcement at the event will be the timeslot change of the talkshows on the channel.

According to the latest TV guide information; Katch It With Khanyi has moved to an earlier slot of 17h30 from 18h00. This is a bad idea for the show, albeit just a 30 minutes change, it will have a negative impact on the show's ratings. 

Having the talkshows as lead-in to the early primetime programming was perfect for the channel's lineup. I know the theory is always that people are indoors earlier in winter but 17h30 is too early — and what will happened after winter? Will they move the shows again? That will affect viewers loyalty because we get used to seeing shows at specific times and when they move we struggle to migrate with then to new slots which may be occupied by other shows we like on a different channel. 

I have learned through my sources that after having moved the English News bulletin to 20:30 earlier this year, the channel has had to rethink that decision . Apparently viewers complaints has led to the channel now changing the timeslots again by moving the news to 18:30 on weekdays

This situation with the news may perhaps be the reason to sacrifice the talkshows by dumping them to an earlier slot so that they can accommodate the news bulletin. 

I think it is time channels in South Africa adopt the practice of having focus groups or test groups meetings before making decisions. Speak to the viewers before changing things and having to change them back again when you get a backlash. 

Etv has done this before a few times. None was more disastrous than the decision to mess around with the Club 808 timeslot [read about that HERE]. When they did that, the show's ratings plummeted dramatically. The move also affected the show's brand power, which I think it has never been able to recover from even after the show was moved back to a more attractive timeslot. 

Katch It With Khanyi ratings have declined since the show made its illustrious debut on the channel. Mbau is no longer the Queen of Talk but the show has received some favourable reviews and pulls some decent numbers. Why mess with something that is working?

Catch Katch It With Khanyi in its new timeslot Mondays at 17:30 in June.