Citizen TV executives, on Monday, September 30, pulled the plug on a popular show after persistent pressure from the audience.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the station's Production Manager Stanley Ngige, revealed that Machachari was getting offscreen after pressure mounted over the age of its characters in a show supposed to ideally mimic the lives of teens. In its place, the broadcaster has settled for Johari.
Ngige explained that the show had outlived its relevance after its main characters hit the country's legal age.
He further intimated that the show was trailing in ratings averaging between 3.8 million and 4.8 million in weekly viewership.
"We have got a chance to watch this Friday's show of Machachari. It has been a gradual, deliberate ending of a show strategically so that we introduce new content in the target audience of kids.
"We started with Baha's crew, they are now seniors. We needed to create a room to have a new show just the way we began Machachari 13 years ago. It comes to an end this Friday conclusively and Johari replaces it," stated Ngige.
He further shed more light on the Johari's plotline explaining that it centers around kids having fun around Mt. Kenya.
He further divulged that the station opted for a new show instead of creating plotlines consisting of younger characters in the existing one because viewers had been attached to the existing crew creating a buy-in hurdle.
"When you have watched something for 13 years, you do not want to replace characters with lookalikes. It may not do very well with the viewers who have bonded with some of the characters.
"The natural way is to bring a show to a conclusive end," he added.
He also explained that the cast had moved on and that Royal Media Services (RMS) was offering them mentorship as they move to the next level of their careers.
Leading local shows ratings-wise at the station are Inspekta Mwala, Mother-in-Law, Papa Shirandula and Tahidi High in that order.
"Definitely Machachari was lagging behind in terms of numbers and that partly informed our decision because it had been losing over time," concluded Ngige
