The 20th century exposed Maltese listeners to Italian radio transmissions as early as the 1930s, when several wealthy Maltese families invested in a wireless radio set, keen on listening to Italian operas and renowned arias, which at the time enjoyed widespread popularity in Malta.

Italian radio transmissions, active since the 1920s and followed by RAI since the 1940s, gained prevalence over most of the neighbouring peninsula and its environs, often featuring speeches by then Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

As early as 1935, aware of this fresh Italian socio-political influence on the residents of the British colony and hot on the heels of the quibbling of the Language Question – a power struggle between English and Italian – the colonial authorities in Malta granted a licence to a British broadcast company, operating as Rediffusion.

The new company  provided a radio service via two channels, one transmitting the BBC Empire Service and another in Maltese using cable. Although the primary aim was that of disseminating the English language on Switch A, the system proved more popular with its Maltese output on Switch B. It also served the controlled war effort during World War II.

Rediffusion launches MTV

Joan Borg Cardona, an MTV announcer, on the cover of the first copy of the TV Gwida published by Rediffusion in 1962. Photo: National Library of Malta

The TVM schedule for the inaugural night. Photo: National Library of Malta

September 29, 1962, saw the introduction of local television. Once more, aware of the Italian influence of the RAI TV content on the islanders, Rediffusion decided to expand its local media operations and established a British-oriented TV service. Beneficially, the new programme schedules also featured several innovative Maltese productions, including the flagship daily newscast, which still commands the highest media rates through TVM today.

Carrying a high percentage of British-imported material, the initial Malta Television (MTV) output consisted of four-and-a-half hours of daily broadcasts, of which 24 per cent per week originated locally. Both the Central Office of Information and the Broadcasting Authority, the latter instituted in 1961, contributed to the home-grown productions. A weekly publication called Gwida, often carrying new faces of the small screen on its covers, carried details of schedules.

MTV’s initial studio transmissions emanated from Rediffusion House in Guardamangia, inaugurated in 1958. With the fast-growing popularity of the first-ever TV channel communicating in Maltese, the need to move to a purpose-built space was soon felt, and in 1964, down the hill from the original premises, Television House was inaugurated. This studio was to beam TV’s content for almost half a century until 2012, when all operations moved to the modernised former Rediffusion House, now called the PBS Creativity Hub.

Setting up a public TV station

Rediffusion’s TV and radio operations were nationalised in 1975 through a sit-in and management lockout organised by members of the General Workers’ Union, winding up Rediffusion in Malta. A year later, responsibility for public broadcasting, now reorganised under Xandir Malta, was invested in the newly set up Telemalta.

The percentage of locally originated output in Maltese, mostly live, grew substantially. Various departments, namely the technical area, advertising, information, sports and entertainment, were upgraded. National events began to be covered live after the acquisition of an outside broadcast unit in 1976.

Following in the steps of RAI, which changed to colour transmission during the 1970s, on July 8, 1981, Television Malta (TVM) – now having revised its official designation from MTV – switched to colour, generating an influx of colour TV sets to replace the monochrome older ones. Digital signals replacing the analogue system enhanced the picture, in the process, sweeping away rooftop antennas, restoring a more pleasant skyline.

A plaque commemorating TVM’s first day of colour transmission on July 8, 1981. Photo: PBS Archives

Education and culture

A school broadcasting unit, which had been organised since the late 1940s also to spread the use of English, produced educational programmes on all broadcasting services. This unit later developed into a fully-fledged educational broadcasting and media centre, and, after pluralism in broadcasting was introduced in Malta in the early 1990s, it launched its own education channel, known as Education 22 in 1996.

Towards the end of the century, Xandir Malta was reorganised into Public Broadcasting Services, incorporating wireless radio stations (the cabled service closed down in 1989) and two TV channels, after Channel 12 – a community TV station – and later Education 22, ceased operations.

Farming out a good number of local productions, including drama and cultural and entertaining series, has in recent years relieved the public station of its own studio commitments, enabling it to lean its technical operations and redirect funds and energy into several live events, most of a national or international character.

Recently, retaining its prime channel TVM, PBS restructured its second channel into TVM News+, offering frequent newscasts, current affairs programmes and sports.

The 1990 pluralism law incentivised the two main political parties to launch their own TV stations, namely ONE and Net, followed by other small private ones, including Smash, F Living and Xejk.

Politics in broadcasting

Various media researchers frequently speak on the relevance of television on issues relating to legislative decisions, as the medium influences the voting behaviour of those exposed to its broadcasts. In spite of social media, TV continues to empower viewers to share in general national choices, facilitate rational comparison of political candidates during elections and sustain exploration of pertinent issues. It is, therefore, not surprising that politicians strongly attempt to improve their chances of winning more votes via TV.

It is not surprising that politicians strongly attempt to improve their chances of winning more votes via TV

In its 60 years of broadcasting MTV/TVM, mostly under the watchful eye of the broadcasting regulator, has been the main facilitator when it comes to informing and forming public opinion through discussion programmes on political issues. Quite often, popular series such as Xarabank (1997-2020), also offer an opportunity to debate issues with the participation of legislators, journalists and members of the public.

In the past, when the media facility to reach potential voters was threatened, local politicians have found alternative ways to communicate with their intended followers.

Two particular cases in local TV history recall the Labour Party broadcasting a daily radio programme from Cairo during the Independence referendum campaign in the 1960s after the party had a dispute with the regulator. The Nationalist Party took similar action, citing political imbalance, in 1981, via Radju tal-Libertà, and later by transmitting TV political broadcasts from Sicily. The party also organised a boycott of the state-owned TVM for many months.

Eurovision: a national rallying event

Malta first participated in the Eurovision song contest in 1971 with the now iconic Marija l-Maltija, sung by veteran singer Joe Grech. Malta has never won the contest, although it has twice come second, and likewise third. Malta has been luckier in the Junior version where it registered victories in 2013 and 2015.

In the first participating years, after failing to rank highly, songs in Maltese were dropped in favour of English lyrics. After a 16-year withdrawal from the contest starting in 1975, Malta’s return to Eurovision participation has developed into an annual international public relations exercise.

Every year, PBS enables a local artist to join European and other entertainers in singing lyrics in diverse languages, appearing in theatrical costumes often performing outlandish stage choreography. Controversies of all sorts continue to boost the festival’s reputation, undoubtedly transforming the event into a rallying patriotic force of sorts, even for Maltese viewers.

Drama opportunities

Many media observers believe that video killed the radio star. In Malta, one notices that television and videos, followed by internet streaming of films, must have certainly diluted the number of cinema patrons to the extent of creating a crisis of the latter, which is a pity.

Having very few movies in Maltese, once television introduced local drama and foreign channels started to show cinema features, the majority of viewers appear to have abandoned the big screen – a popular artistic leisure pursuit in many countries – happy with the fare they find in the comfort of their sitting room or online.

Television drama started in earnest on MTV with Malta’s theatre and radio actors – radio plays in Maltese had captivating audiences – emigrating to TV, reciting exciting lines in the native language, providing what the country had thus far missed in the cinema.

Popular entertainers Johnny Catania (left) and Johnny Navarro. Photos: PBS Archives

Charles Clews (standing) during a show appearing on MTV in the 1960s. Photos: PBS Archives

Local TV drama has made gigantic steps, so much so that the demand has hardly ever been satisfied with the supply. This unfortunately, often resulted in having more quantity than quality when all local drama TV offerings are evaluated. Local drama companies mushroomed and generated new opportunities for many budding actors, though with a small population like Malta, selection discretion seems somewhat restricted.

Personal contribution

Having been a regular presenter-producer exclusively on MTV/TVM since January 1969, I consider myself part of the local media narrative. My specialisation was mostly in education and culture, having progressed from children’s programmes to pioneering fora for the young, weekly critique of the arts featuring most local artists of all genres together with the occasional visiting ones, and hosting the station’s quizzes on a big scale, year in, year out, between 1975 and 2001.

A carnival float representing Bongu Malta, the first outside broadcast marathon series on Sunday mornings on TVM during 1984-86. Photo: TVM

Karmen Azzopardi, who passed away earlier this year, seen here as a guest of Charles Xuereb during the quiz programme Piramida, aired 1992. Photo: TVM

Charles Xuereb interviewing Robert Powell for TVM’s Spektrum while the actor was in Malta to launch Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth. Photo: The author

Bonġu Malta (1984-86), a Sunday morning first on TV and a first for an outside broadcast marathon series, toured all the villages and towns of the archipelago, accentuating anthropological interest. It was a pity that Education 22 (1996-2001) was a short-lived project due to lack of funds. My recent TV productions focused more on history, memory and identity.

Charles Xuereb has a master’s in science in media management from Stirling University, UK, and lectures in communications and critical thinking.