The end of COVID-19 partial lockdown measures coincided with a dramatic drop in TV viewership, according to the Broadcasting Authority.

Its study into Malta's media habits showed that viewership dropped by a fifth in July, when most restrictions were lifted.

In March, 68.9 per cent of the population said they watched TV, but by July, television audiences had dropped to 52.4 per cent.

Researcher Mario Axiak noted the July audience assessment was carried out at a time when the steps to combat coronavirus were lifted.

"Although the largest-ever percentage of viewers was registered during the previous assessment of March 2020, audience levels have returned back to their previous levels before the outbreak of Covid-19," his report said.

But while TV watching dropped in July, more people tuned in to radio.

Radio audiences increased from 44.7 per cent of the population in March to 52.1 per cent in July - a rise of 7.4 per cent. 

Radio listeners also appeared to have a longer attention span. In July, the average radio user spent 3.6 hours tuned in, more than double the 1.7 hour average watching television. 

What were people watching?

Most viewers (67.7 per cent) followed local stations, while a third watched foreign content through TSN Melita/Go, Go Stars and Melita More.

The state broadcaster, TVM was the most popular local station followed by Labour's One TV and both had audiences of all ages. 

Local and Foreign News programmes were the most-watched (23 per cent), followed by drama (14.3 per cent), discussion and current affairs (10.4 per cent) and documentaries (9.8 per cent).

The study also showed that younger people were more likely to watch content produced overseas. 

Whilst 49.75 per cent of viewers in the 12-20 age bracket said they watched foreign content, only 19.56 per cent of viewers aged 71 and over said they did the same.

Television stations that broadcast foreign content topped the chart for total viewer airtime at 40.7 per cent. Local stations, on the other hand, peak at 22 per cent with TVM, followed by One at 18.6 per cent and NET TV at 4.5 per cent.

What were people listening to?

Despite the age of multimedia, radio still maintains a degree of popularity, with over half of the population reporting that they listened to radio regularly.

The top three radio stations for July 2020 were 89.7 Bay (22.75 per cent), Vibe FM (15.5 per cent) and One radio (14.73 per cent). 

Across all stations, by far the most popular type of programme is music-based (60 per cent), followed by news and analysis at 7.1 per cent and prayer/religious programmes at 5%. Discussion programmes claim only 3.2 per cent of audiences. 

One radio has the highest amount of airtime for audiences, and retains loyal listeners who tune in for an average of 5.56 hours per listener.

The report also states that 49.5 per cent stated they prefer “morning drive” programmes when compared to just 11.24 per cent who said they preferred the afternoon version. Daytime programmes maintain a steady popularity of 34.75 per cent.

With a sample of 1,240 respondents aged between 12 - 92 years old, the assessment has a margin of error set at 2.71 per cent.