SABC 1's flagship TV shows, Uzalo and Generations: The Legacy, both suffered sharp declines in January after the broadcaster moved the shows to its other channels for the duration of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament.
According to the latest Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) statistics released by The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa for January 2017, Uzalo dropped over 300,000 viewers in the month but remained the most watched show in South Africa.
It managed to attract 8.11 million viewers at its highest point, down from the 8.42 million viewers it managed to attract in December last year.
Generations remained the second most popular show in South Africa but dropped over 420,000 viewers in January. It managed to attract a total of 7.93 million viewers, down from 8.36 million in December.
The SABC announced in December last year that it would be moving Generations to SABC 3 and Uzalo to SABC 2 for most of January, in order to provide live coverage of AFCON.
Both shows listed on SABC 1's list of highest shows for January, after airing on the channel for the first two weeks of the month, but did not make the SABC 2 or SABC 3 lists.
SABC 2's Muvhango remained the most popular show on the channel with 6.87 million, making it the third most popular TV show in the country.
While, weekly lifestyle magazine show Top Billing was the most watched TV show on SABC 3 with 1.72 million viewers.
SABC 1 soapie Skeem Saam, which registered just under 6 million viewers in December also made the move to SABC 2 during the month, but saw an increase to 6.23 million viewers at the end of January.
Despite numerous attempts SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago could not be reached for comment.
