A recent survey carried out by the Malta Communications Authority shows that 11.2 per cent of Maltese households (16,000) rely solely on traditional free-to-air analogue TV broadcasts to watch Maltese television programmes.
Traditional free-to-air analogue TV broadcasting, namely television signals which can be received free of charge via aerial in analogue form - will be upgraded to digital by the end of 2010. From 2011 onwards, viewers will continue to benefit from free-to-air broadcasting since six slots will be made available for national TV channels on a free-to-air basis, including the state TV station TVM.
This shift from analogue to digital TV broadcasting is commonly known as the Digital Switch-Over and forms part of wider EU and international programmes aimed at enhancing the TV experience through the deployment of advanced digital technologies.
Benefits of digital television include improved sound and picture quality and a wider choice of TV channels.
When respondents were asked why they have not subscribed to a pay TV service, 48 per cent replied that they are happy with free-to-air TV while 35 per cent believe that pay TV services are expensive. Almost 19 per cent of respondents indicated that they will be considering a subscription to a pay TV service within the next two years.
The survey results also indicated that 54 per cent of respondents are aware that Maltese free-to-air television will be switched to digital by the end of 2010. The digital switchover will affect households which rely on free-to-air analogue broadcasts to watch national TV stations. Analogue transmissions on the cable network will not be affected since the cable operator is under no obligation to upgrade to digital. Should, however, the cable operator opt to cease analogue transmissions, it is required to include all free-to-air TV channels in its digital TV offerings and to replicate the equivalent of the analogue reception package in digital. Subscribers of the digital terrestrial pay TV operator will be able to watch any free-to-air digital TV channel via their existing operator-provided set-top box. In order to benefit from free-to-air TV broadcasting from 2011 onwards, "free-to-air" households would need to upgrade their receiving equipment to digital.