Press Release 11/21
Audience Survey November 2021
The Broadcasting Authority is pleased to announce that it has just issued the results of the audience assessment survey carried out in November 2021. The object of this periodic audience assessment survey is to assess the viewer/listenership of TV, radio and online content and identify the preferred source of local news amongst Maltese residents aged 12+ years. The dates of assessment comprised between Sunday 31st October – 6th November 2021, both dates inclusive. The survey was conducted by M. FSADNI & Associates.
Research Methodology
For this audience survey wave, the survey sample comprised 2,100 completed interviews. A total of 300 interviews per day were conducted over 7 consecutive days with Maltese residents aged 12+ years, hailing from Malta’s six geographical regions (NSO, 2021).
The aggregate 2100-count audience survey sample produced statistically significant findings at a +/-2.13 confidence interval (margin of error) at a 95% confidence level.
The daily 300-count audience survey sample produced statistically significant findings at a +/-5.66 confidence interval (margin of error) at a 95% confidence level.
All interviews were conducted by CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviews), using a structured research instrument to compile the data.
The research findings for TV viewership and radio listenership were extrapolated to reflect Malta’s population. This was calculated on the most recent population statistics compiled by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in their publication ‘World Population Day News Release’ (2021). For this extrapolation exercise, non-TV viewers and non-radio listeners were proportionately deducted from Malta’s population of individuals aged 12+ years (N=459,781).
Worthy of mention is that although the dates of assessment of this audience study were from ‘a Sunday’ (31st October) to ‘a Saturday’ (6th November), for sake of comparison with previous and future BA audience surveys, the research findings throughout the whole report are presented from Monday to Sunday.
Salient Research Findings
A synopsis of the salient research findings emanating from the audience survey now follows.
TV Viewership, Radio Listenership & Online Viewership – An Overview
- 91% of Maltese residents are TV viewers. Of these, 53% watch both local and foreign TV, 25% watch local TV stations only and 13% watch foreign TV stations only.
- 1 in 2 Maltese residents are radio listeners (54%). This finding was observed across all age cohorts.
- 15% of Maltese residents watch online Maltese programmes, largely hailing from the younger age cohorts (12-30 years).
TV Viewership
Favourite genre for local TV programmes
- The News Bulletin is the most favourite genre for local TV programmes, with 70.6% of all TV viewers indicating this as one of their favourite genres. This genre was mentioned as one of the favourite genres by more than 2 in 3 of TV viewers aged 21+ years.
- Drama is the second most favourite genre, with 43.7% indicating this as one of their favourite genres for local TV programmes. This genre is more popular amongst female TV viewers (60%) as opposed to male TV viewers (28%).
- Discussions and Current affairs is the third most favourite genre for local TV programmes, with 30% indicating this as one of their preferred genres.
Most Followed TV Stations: Monday to Sunday
All of Malta’s TV Viewers were given the possibility of mentioning up to three TV stations they watched on the previous day. Out of a total of 1904 TV viewers, 15.3% said that they did not watch any television on the previous day.
- TVM is the most watched TV station, with 44.3% of all TV viewers mentioning TVM as one of the three TV stations they watched on the previous day. TVM is, in fact, the most watched local station across all age cohorts and gender.
- Foreign stations (any) are the second most followed, with 43.6% having watched a foreign TV station on the previous day.
- ONE is the third most followed TV station, with just over 1 in 5 TV viewers (22.4%) mentioning ONE as one of the TV stations they watched on the previous day. ONE is mostly followed by the older age cohort TV viewers aged 51+ years.
- NET TV is the fourth most followed TV station, with 12.8% having watched this station on the previous day. NET TV is also mostly followed by the older age cohort TV viewers aged 41+ years.
Exhibit 1 – Most followed TV stations (Monday to Sunday)
(Multiple-Response Q) (n=1904)
NOTE I: Respondents were given the possibility of mentioning up to 3 TV Stations which they had watched on the previous day. Hence, the percentages depicted in this table do NOT total up to 100%.
Exhibit 1 illustrates the most followed TV stations during Week 31st October – 6th November 2021.
‘Did not watch any TV on the previous day’ refers to TV viewers who did not watch TV
on the day of assessment during that particular week.
Note: TV stations not featured in the Exhibit above have a TV viewership of less than 0.1%
Between Monday to Sunday.
Most Followed TV Timebands: Monday to Sunday
All TV Viewers (excluding TV viewers who did not watch TV on the date of assessment) were asked to indicate all timebands during which they watched the three mentioned TV stations (including foreign stations) on the previous day.
The three most followed TV timebands from Monday to Sunday are:
- 20:00 - 20:30 (218,832 TV viewers)
- 20:30 - 21:00 (193,698 TV viewers)
- 21:00 - 21:30 (189,006 TV viewers)
Favourite Local TV Programme
- Almost 1 in 4 local TV viewers (23.4%) do not have a favourite local TV programme.
- TVM’s news bulletin is the most favourite local TV programme of 9.3% of all local TV viewers. Worthy of mention is that the TVM news bulletin was largely watched on station TVM and not on TVMnews+.
- Nostalgija and XFactor are the second most favourite TV programmes with 7.3% respectively, of all local TV viewers.
Population Average Audience Share by Weekday and by Station
From the daily TV viewership findings, the population average audience share by weekday and by station was drawn up. This daily average audience share has been derived by totalling the aggregate daily viewership obtained by each TV station and dividing this by the number of timeslots. This daily average audience share for each TV station has been presented in figures and percentages, depicted in Tables 1 and 2 below.
- Except for Friday, the highest population daily average audience share was obtained by TVM, attaining a daily average TV viewership ranging between 9729 – 15,811, Monday to Sunday. This is equivalent to a percentage average daily TV viewership between 29% - 31.7% (Monday to Sunday). On Friday, the highest population daily average audience share of 11,685 (32.4%) was obtained by ONE.
- The second highest population daily average audience share was obtained by ONE (except for Friday), ranging between 3,806-6,675 (7.6% -16.3%); though on Sunday, the TSN1-8 stations ranked second with an average audience share of 6,316 (12.6%).
- NET TV ranked third with a population daily average audience share of 2,056-3,567 (4.8%-9.3%).
Table 1 – Q8 – TV - Population Average Audience Share By Weekday and By Station
Table 1 – Q8 – TV – Percentage Average Audience Share By Weekday and By Station
Note I: TV viewers were given the possibility of mentioning up to 3 TV stations on the weekday in question. For each TV station, these TV viewers were asked to indicate all time slots during which they viewed the mentioned TV station. (Multiple-response Q)
Note II: TV stations with ‘zero/0%’ audience on a particular weekday in the Table above denotes that their viewership (on that day) was too low to be captured.
Types of TV reception services used for watching TV
- 86.1% of all 1904 TV viewers, use ‘Paid Subscription’ as one of the reception services for watching TV. This is the most used reception service for watching TV across all age groups.
- 12.5% make use of ‘IPTV’ as one of the reception services, whilst 8% use the ‘Android Box’.
- 0.8% use ‘free-to-air’ as one of the reception services for watching TV.
Radio Listenership
Most Followed Radio Stations: Monday to Sunday
All radio listeners (excluding radio listeners who did not listen to radio on the dates of assessment) were given the possibility of mentioning up to three radio stations they had listened to on the previous day. 17.2% of radio listeners indicated that they did not listen to radio on the previous day.
- Bay is the most followed radio station, with an audience of 17.7% of all radio listeners. Bay is largely popular with the younger cohorts, with most of its listeners being radio listeners aged 12 – 30 years.
- ONE Radio is the second most followed radio station with an audience of 15.6%, more particularly with radio listeners aged 51+ years (22%).
- Calypso Radio 101.8FM is the third most followed station, with 12.5% of radio listeners. Most of Calypso’s radio listeners are also aged 51+ years.
Exhibit 2 – Q14 – Most followed Radio stations (Aggregate)
(Multiple-Response Q) (n=1321)
NOTE I: Respondents were given the possibility of mentioning up to 3 Radio Stations which they had listened to
on the previous day. Hence, the percentages depicted in this table do NOT total up to 100%.
Exhibit 2 illustrates the most followed radio stations during Week 31st October – 6th November 2021.
Note I: ‘Did not listen to the radio on the previous day’ refers to radio listeners who did not listen to radio on the day of assessment during that particular week.
Note II: Radio stations not featured in the Exhibit above have a radio listenership of less than 0.3%
Between Monday to Sunday.
Most Followed Radio Timebands: Monday to Sunday
All local radio listeners (excluding radio listeners who did not listen to radio on the dates of assessment) were asked to indicate all timebands during which they listened to the three mentioned radio stations (including foreign stations) on the previous day.
Overall, across all radio stations, the three most followed radio timebands from Monday to Sunday are:
- 09:00 – 09:30 (87,466 radio listeners)
- 09:30 – 10:00 (80,428 radio listeners)
- 10:00 – 10:30 (80,428 radio listeners)
Favourite Local Radio Programme
- 1 in 5 local radio listeners (19.6%) do not have a preferred local radio programme. Radio listeners aged 31+ years are the most radio listeners who do not have a preferred programme.
- Bay Breakfast with Daniel & Ylenia is the most favourite local radio programme, with 17.5% mentioning it as their preferred local radio programme. This radio programme is largely preferred by the younger age cohorts, 12-40 years.
- The Morning Vibe with Abel, JD & Martina and Bongu Calypso are the second most favourite local radio programmes, each with 7% of preferences. The former is listened to by the younger age cohorts (under 40s) and the latter is popular with the older age cohorts (41+ years).
Population Average Audience Share by Weekday and by Station
From the daily radio listenership findings, the population average audience share by weekday and by station was drawn up. This daily average audience share was derived by totalling the aggregate daily listenership obtained by each radio station and dividing this by the number of timeslots. This daily average audience share for each radio station has been presented in figures and percentages, depicted in Tables 3 and 4 below.
- The highest population daily average audience shares were obtained by ONE Radio and Calypso Radio 101.8FM on various weekdays, namely (average daily audience shares in figures and percentages):
- ONE Radio: Monday: 7,472 (35.4%), Tuesday: 6,759 (29.7%), Wednesday: 8,930 (29.4%), Friday: 13,089 (28.7%) and Sunday: 4,936 (28.9%).
- Calypso Radio 101.8FM: Thursday: 10,620 (34.7%) and Saturday: 9,120 (32.1%).
Table 3 - Q14 – RADIO - Population Average Audience Share By Weekday and By Station
Table 4 - Q14 – RADIO – Percentage Average Audience Share By Weekday and By Station
Note I: Radio listeners were given the possibility of mentioning up to 3 radio stations on the weekday in question. For each radio station, these radio listeners were asked to indicate all time slots during which they listened to the mentioned radio station. (Multiple -response Q)
Note II: Radio stations with a “zero/%” audience on a particular weekday in the Table above denotes that their listenership (on that day) was too low to be captured.
Types of Radio Reception Services used for Listening to Radio
- 93.6% of all radio listeners use the radio set (at home, office, in car, etc) as one of the radio reception services for listening to radio. This is the most used radio reception service by radio listeners across all age groups.
- 6.1% use DAB+ as one of the radio reception services for listening to radio, with this being mostly used by radio listeners aged 21 – 50 years.
Online Viewership
NB. The term ‘online Maltese programmes’ refers to Maltese programmes produced solely for online portals, which cannot be watched on traditional TV.
- 85% of all Maltese residents, do not watch any Maltese programmes that are solely produced for online portals. This finding is more evident with individuals aged 31+ years.
- The remaining 15% watch online Maltese programmes. The younger age cohorts (12-30 years), seem more inclined to watch these online Maltese programmes than the older cohorts.
Online Portals or Platforms Used for Watching Maltese Programmes Online
- Facebook is the most used platform for watching online Maltese programmes, with 80% of all online viewers mentioning it as one of the online platforms used for watching Maltese programmes online. This finding is evident across all age cohorts.
- Following, 22% use lovinmalta.com as one of the online portals for watching online Maltese programmes.
- A further 14% and 11% use Youtube and timesofmalta.com respectively as online portals for watching online Maltese programmes.
Exhibit 3 – Q19 – Online portal/s or platform/s used for watching Maltese
programmes online (Multiple-Response Q) (n=318)
NOTE: The %s below refer to the number of respondents and NOT to the number of responses,
hence they do not total up to 100%
Most Used Device For Watching Preferred Programme Online
- The Mobile is the most used device for online viewers to watch their preferred programme online, with 82% indicating this device as their most used device. Mobile is the most used device across all age cohorts and gender.
- Following, 11% mostly use the laptop for watching their preferred programme online.
- The tablet is the third most used device by online viewers for watching their preferred programme online (5%).
Most Preferred Programme Online
35% of all online viewers do not have a preferred local online programme, while 19% have more than one preferred programme.
- Jon Jispjega is the most favourite programme of 15% of online viewers, whilst Xarabank is the second favourite programme with 11% of online viewers.
Preferred Source For Local News
- Television is the preferred source for local news by 43% of all Maltese residents. This source is particularly popular amongst individuals aged 41+ years.
- Social media is preferred by 21.4%. Social media users are largely the younger cohorts aged up to 40 years.
- 1 in 5 (20.3%) prefer online news portals, which is also a preferred source amongst the younger cohorts (12 – 40 years).
- Radio is preferred by 6%.
Exhibit 7 – Preferred Source for Local News
Preferred Source to Obtain Local News
Television is the most preferred source of local news followers to obtain local news, with 43% of all Maltese residents mentioning television as their preferred source. As a source for local news, television is mostly popular amongst individuals aged 51+ years.
- 38.6% of all those whose preferred source for obtaining local news is ‘Television’, mentioned TVM as their most preferred local TV station for watching local news. TVM is the most preferred station for local news by individuals across all age groups.
- ONE is the second most preferred local TV station for watching local news, with 28% mentioning this station as their preferred local station for watching local news. ONE is mostly popular with TV viewers aged 31+ years.
- NET TV is the third most preferred local TV station for watching local news, and this was mentioned by 12.7% as the preferred local TV station for watching local news. NET TV is also mostly popular with individuals aged 41+ years.
Online news portals are the third most preferred source for obtaining local news, with also 1 in 4 (20.3%) mentioning this as their preferred source for obtaining local news. The younger cohorts, aged 12 – 40 years, also seem to prefer this source for obtaining local news.
- Just over half of all individuals (53%), who prefer local news portals for following local news, mentioned timesomalta.com as their preferred local news portal, making it the most preferred local news portal for following local news. This was the most preferred local news portal across all age groups.
- Following, tvm.com.mt is the second most preferred local news portal for following local news, with 10.2% mentioning this as their preferred local news portal.
Radio is the fourth most preferred source for local news by 6% of all Maltese residents.
- 19.5% of individuals whose preferred source for obtaining local news is ‘Radio’, mentioned ONE Radio as their most preferred local radio station.
- 17.1% mentioned Calypso Radio 101.8FM as their most preferred local radio to obtaining local news.
- Radju Malta 1 is most preferred by 15.9% and Net FM is preferred by 13.4%.
The full version of the results of the survey can be downloaded from the Authority’s website: www.ba.org.mt under ‘Latest Reports’.
28th December 2021