Release: Immediate
Date: 2 December 2016
PR 09/16
TV-VIEWING INCREASES AND EXCEEDS PREVIOUS YEAR’S ASSESSMENT
The Broadcasting Authority has just released its latest study on audience assessment for October 2016.
The latest survey reveals that the average amount of hours that TV viewers spent watching television amounts to 1.97hrs every day. This was 10 minutes more than that of the previous assessment during the month of July 2016 [1.80hrs] and was only just also just ½ minute less than that registered for the same period last year in October 2016 [1.98hrs].
Over the whole population aged 12 years and over the national average for TV viewing stood at 1.35hrs every person. The national average was 0.3hrs higher than that registered over the same period last year [1.32hrs] and implies that there were more TV-viewers than last year. On average, the amount of persons watching television increased from an average of 240,800 in October 2015 to 249,000 this year.
On the other hand radio listening has decreased by 0.07 hrs from 3.04 hrs in July 2016 to 2.97 hours in October 2016 but has increased over that of the same period last year [2.84; Oct 2015] by 0.13hrs. The national average remained the same of 1.36 for both periods of October 2015 and Oct 2016.
During the month of October 2016, an average of 187,000 persons, or 47.6% of the population aged 12 years and over, stated that they had listened to radio while an average of 191,200 persons [49.3%] listened to radio during the same period last year [Oct 2015].
Data was collected by the National Statistics Office during the month of October 2016 and 37.4% of all contacted persons accepted to participate. A sample of 1,240 was collected with the youngest interviewed being 12 years old while the eldest person contacted was 97 years old.
TV Audience Reach
TVM remains the most popular station with 33.47%, followed by ONE [18.9], and Net TV [9.7%]. Overall 66.0% of all viewers followed a local station while the other 34.0% followed a foreign station with Mediaset Channels [13.4%], RAI channels [4.2%] and Other stations [11.9%] being the most popular stations.
As in other previous surveys, TV audiences tend to peak between 7:30pm and 10:00pm
TV Programme Preferences
The study also investigated the most popular television programmes as indicated by respondents. A total of 108 programmes were named by respondents. Drama programmes seem the most popular with 49.5% of all preferences followed by News [12.0%], and Discussion programmes [7.1%].
Out of all the programmes mentioned by respondents TVM obtained 55.7% of all counts, followed by ONE with 26.2% and Net TV with 14.1%.
The three most quoted programmes were: Strada Stretta [14.3%] followed by Ħbieb u Għedewwa [11.8%] both on TVM [9.5%], and Tereża [9.8%] on ONE.
The top ten programmes most quoted constituted 72.0% of all preferences.
Radio Audiences
Bay Radio remains the most popular station with 20.4% of all radio listeners followed by ONE Radio [16.3%] and Radju Malta [11.0%]. Bay Radio is popular with all those under the age of 50 whereas ONE Radio is popular with those who are above the age of 50.
On average radio listeners spent a total of 2.97hrs each listening to their favourite radio station. This was 0.13hrs [8 minutes] higher than that registered for the same month last year in October 2015 [2.84hrs] and was 0.07hrs [4 minutes] lower than that registered for the previous assessment period of July 2016 [3.04hrs].
On a national basis over the whole of the population aged 12 years and over, the national average of radio listening amounts to 1.36hrs every person.
Computing audience shares by the amount of time that radio listeners have spent following each particular station, the results reveal that while Bay Radio is the most popular station in Malta, its listeners spend an average of 1.51hrs tuned in to the station whereas ONE Radio listeners spend 3.71hrs.
The full version of the results of the survey can be downloaded from the Authority’s website: http://ba-malta.org/audience-assessments
For further information please contact:
Mario Axiak, M.B.A (Maastricht)
Head, Research & Communications
Tel: +356 2122 1281
