Description
Television in Malta was first introduced in 1957 but the only programmes that could be watched were RAI broadcasts from across the sea in Sicily.
The Malta Television Service was launched on 29 September 1962, and took to the screens with an animated logo formed from the Maltese Cross.
The distinctive voice of Charles Arrigo then proudly announced: ‘Dan huwa l-Malta Television Service’ and the show was underway.
In the beginning, the Malta Television Service broadcast for five hours a day, out of which only a quarter of the programmes were made in Malta. The remainder were imported shows featuring big names from Britain and the United States.
In 1975, broadcasting in Malta came under the control of the state-owned Telemalta Corporation, which also ran the island’s telephone network.
Xandir Malta, as it was later known, ruled the airwaves throughout the 1980s until Public Broadcasting Services was set up in 1991.
TVM underwent a series of rebrands in the 1990s and 2000s, giving the channel a fresh and modern look in order to compete with increasingly popular international cable channels such as BBC Prime, Sky News and NBC Super Channel.
Today, PBS operates and manages two television channels and three radio stations serving Malta and Gozo.
There are also a number of privately-owned stations including One TV, Net Television and Smash TV.
