Battle for the soul of 6.30pm

Haters take note: the SABC has done something right.

Perhaps realising it didn't have a strong programme for the competitive 6.30pm time slot, SABC 1 moved weekly youth drama Skeem Saam from 8.30pm during last year's second season (where it consistently attracted more than 5 million viewers per Thursday), to 6.30pm - a hot slot that SABC 3's Isidingo couldn't handle.

Rhythm City - on e.tv - is watched by more than 3 million viewers at 6.30pm.

The soap's third season premiered only on Monday, but if social media reaction is anything to go by it may have ignited a ratings war.

"When police come to arrest #SkeemSaam for the murder of #RhythmCity," said one fan on Twitter. "Aaah! #SkeemSaam will definitely take the Rhythm City audience. #RIP", and "At least something to watch after work, #skeemsaam", said others.

Winnie Serite, a former Isidingo scriptwriter, is the creator and producer of the show.

The Sepedi show's logline is "what makes a man", and examines the lives of three boys on the cusp of adulthood as they deal with masculinity, gender relations, relationships, sex and self-esteem.

Skeem Saam's supervising producer, David Brown, said: "We're not competing with Rhythm City and we don't want to either. It seems quite silly to me to talk of a rivalry, because we all have our own viewers.

"We have to take our 8.30pm viewers to 6.30pm. I don't think we have to take them on. The SABC has a different footprint to e.tv," Brown said.

The secret of the show's success is the script, he said. Apparently it's culturally specific, deals with ordinary South African families and the teenagers and the women on the show are strong.

A lot of the television dramas, said Brown, "are so desperate to create conflict".

"These are real stories. There's plenty of conflict and drama ."