PH
The future of hit TV shows Live Amp that spearheaded the careers of Bonang Matheba and Minnie Dlamini hangs in a balance as at now.
report can reveal that the reception over the new-look SABC1 music show with fresh-faced presenters DJ Speedsta and DJ Lamiez Holworthy has been so lukewarm that production company Urban Brew Studios is starting to feel the heat.
So stormy is the climate that Live Amp producer Nhlanhla Mthimkhulu was given the boot on Tuesday last week as part of the strategy to salvage what’s left of the once top-rated TV show.
According to an insider at
Urban Brew Studios, Mthimkhulu was fired following a number of “technical glitches” that resulted in the show not going live on TV at one stage.
Sowetan understands that the most noticeable and embarrassing was on June 8, which was planned as DJ Warras’s farewell episode. The episode failed to air; instead, a repeat episode was shown and they had to apologise to viewers.
Mthimkhulu confirmed to Sowetan he was given his marching order last week. He admitted that the show had taken a rating dip with the recent new look.
The 26-year-old blamed most of the countless “technical errors” to the move to a new studio. Urban Brew Studios moved to new premises in Randburg in April.
“We have had so many on-air technical glitches since we moved to our new premises. With that came a lot of dissatisfaction from the SABC with regards to the production.
“Over-time I suppose they were just fed up with us and they were like ‘we need to change the entire team to sort of regaining what the show was in previous years or whatever’.
