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Egoli drawing to a close?
19/01/2006 08:30 - (SA)
Philip de Bruin, Beeld
Johannesburg - The extremely popular M-Net soap Egoli might be coming to an end.
After 13 years during which millions of viewers sat glued to their television screens between 18:00 and 18:30 every night, Carl Fisher, head of M-Net Local Productions said: "The two extreme realities in connection with Egoli are either that we stop it completely and remove it from screens, or that we take a chance and continue in the present format."
Several senior Egoli actors recently expressed "doubt" that they would still have jobs next year.
This situation was created after the independent broadcasting authority last year decreed that M-Net's open time between 17:00 and 19:00 must come to an end in April next year. Egoli is broadcast during open time.
"We seriously have to consider stopping Egoli."
Trying to cut costs
"The soap is by and large the single biggest expenditure, and if open time should lapse, we will lose advertisers, viewers and income.
"We are therefore forced to look at ways in which to save and since Egoli is so expensive, it's naturally the logical place to start. We have only two extreme choices: to stop it altogether, or to take a chance that more viewers will subscribe once open time falls away. It's purely a financial decision that has to be taken."
Egoli in its present format is earning six minutes of advertising per episode at R40 000 per 30 seconds. That means an income of R480 000 per episode. At 260 episodes a year it earns M-Net more than R124m in advertising income. But this could drop when open time is cancelled.
Fisher said there are "a few other options somewhere between the two extremes", but talks are still being held and a final decision is expected by May.
Egoli co-producer Burgert Muller, said M-Net renews their contract in June every year. "We will therefore not know what's going on before May."
M-Net and Media24, parent company of News24, are both part of the Naspers Group of companies.
- Beeld
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South Africa
