Uzalo made its debut on SABC in February 2015. Since then, the TV drama gained popularity – making it the most watched TV show in South Africa, with 9.18 million views.
Today, the show’s future is at stake as SABC faces financial woes.
According to Sowetan Live, Stained Glass TV (producers of the show) has expressed that the situation is so dire that they are considering canning the show or letting go of some of the staff.
Reports have revealed that SABC’s group chief executive officer, Nomsa Philiso, said the SABC could not make payments due on Tuesday. However, the broadcaster’s spokesperson Kaizer Kganago said that the lack of payments did not affect their service providers.
Parliament is still considering SABC guarantee application of R3billion, without which, the public broadcaster will continue to struggle meeting its obligations, including service providers.
According to Times Live, SABC’s losses have been attributed to former COO Hlaudi Motsoaneng’s 90% local content policy, which was canned following his exit.