(Pixabay)
(Pixabay)
Catching up with your favourite soapies may have just got a little more difficult for South African viewers. Both Uzalo and Skeem Saam are set to be taken off of YouTube on Thursday 28 February, as SABC moves some of its content to a new streaming platform called “Viu”.
The network has signed a 24-month deal with with the digital service and they will migrate some of their most popular shows over to Viu – who have split their viewing options into both “free” and “premium” content, the latter of which subscribers must pay to watch.
How to watch Uzalo and Skeem Saam online
As it stands, neither Uzalo or Skeem Saam are subject to the paywall. However, that could soon change. Viu are planning to offer subscribers a 30-day free trial of premium content before asking viewers to pay-up to continue watching the top shows at the end of the month.
With the soapies drawing in audiences in the millions – plus hundreds of thousands of more via YouTube broadcasts – it could soon become a profitable business decision to start charging for Uzalo and Skeem Saam.
What is Viu?
Viu has proved to be extremely popular in the Asian streaming market, and recently expanded their operations to the Middle East and Gulf states. They come to South Africa on Friday 1 March, boasting seventy original titles and 20 million active subscribers. As well as our melodramas, they’ve also scored the digital rights to these SABC shows:
- The Docket
- Yizo-Yizo
- Single Galz
- Taryn and Sharon
- Ngempela
- The Sober Companion
- When We Were Black
- Emoyeni
What this means for viewers
As it stands, you can watch the latest episodes of your favourite soapies through our website. However, as we won’t be able to embed the videos to our articles, so you may only be able to catch up with these shows on our behalf for the next nine days.
These shows will still air on SABC at their normal times, but the only way to catch up with them online (legally, that is) will be through Viu. If you want to find out more about how to subscribe to the service, follow this link.
