'Egoli' extends run to 2010

South African soap to reach 20th anniversary

By CHRISTELLE DE JAGER

 JOHANNESBURG Franz Marx Films, producers of M-Net's flagship daily soap "Egoli," has signed a contract with the paybox to extend the soap's run until March 2010, its 20th anniversary.

Carl Fischer, director of local productions, says this means "Egoli" is "well on its way to two decades."

Broadcast daily from 6 to 6:30 p.m., the Afrikaans-language, English subtitled "Egoli" is consistently one of M-Net's most watched shows, usually behind only popular movies, leading reality shows like "Idols" or "Survivor" and weekly actuality show "Carte Blanche."

Before M-Net's daily free-to-air window between 5 and 7 p.m. was shut in April 2007, "Egoli" drew approximately 1 million viewers, but the aud fell drastically to roughly 280,000 viewers after the window was closed, and there was concern about the future of the soap.

But Fischer says "Egoli" is now doing "exceptionally well." M-Net's strategy of creating a nightly soap hour between 6 and 7 to keep viewers tuned in by following "Egoli" with daily drama "Binnelanders," created recently from a previous popular weekly drama, has worked well.

TAMS ratings indicate "Egoli" has raised viewership back to around 370,000 while "Binnelanders" has climbed back up to 260,000 from its low of 200,000 after open time was first closed.

"Our decision to run 'Binnelanders' immediately after 'Egoli' when open-time viewing came to an end was a wise one. According to M-Net's calculations, between 30% and 40% of the additional viewers have been lured away from the programs of other channels," Fischer says.

Fischer adds that after "Carte Blanche," "Egoli" is the longest-running program on M-Net. "Carte Blanche" celebrates its 20th year on M-Net in October.