TVM gets in Saturday night mood, national broadcaster to screen Hollywood blockbusters

The national broadcaster is to start screening Saturday night movies, in a revamped TV schedule it launched today at Palazzo Parisio.

The new schedule offers an increase of 30 minutes in the daily programming for children, a daily 30-minute sport programme covering local and international sports events, a new game show, Studio 54, for the early evening pre-news time slot, and Discovery Wednesdays: a series of high quality documentaries on prime-time.

A number of renowned production houses have joined the national television station for the first time while established names return with eagerly anticipated programmes for the new season.

PBS Chairman Joseph Mizzi said TVM had almost doubled its financial partnerships with third-party producers. “TVM is providing added financial and other resources to reduce the pressures that production houses have had to face, particularly in competing amongst themselves to sell advertising that sustains their operations, and consequently shifting their focus from quality productions to financial management and feasibility.”

89% of all programmes on-air between this October and December enjoy a partnership between PBS and production houses – a substantial increase from 46% when compared to the same period in 2009 that TVM hopes will bear fruit within the coming weeks.

“We firmly stand by our mission to stimulate, encourage  and support the creative television industry which, gradually continues to grow and mature. A lot of progress has been done in this respect but as always, there is room for more,” Mizzi said.

Production houses Zoo and Take 2 (the producers behind popular series Evangelisti and Giselle) moved to TVM to join a long list of succesful established productions. The Zoo team have put together a game show called VIP Xow while production house Take 2 will offer a new comedy-drama called Deceduti. This will join the highly acclaimed F’Salib it-Toroq which enters it’s second year and K.C. which is returning to TVM after an absence of a year. This is the first time TVM is offering three local drama nights every week.

Established productions continue on TVM including Xarabank, which still attracts the highest audience of 153,00 viewers, Bondi+, Bijografiji, Bongu Breakfast Show and afternoon programme 12:05, Hadd Ghalik, Liquorish, Meander, Sibtek, Venere, Dissett, Qalb in-Nies and others.

The latest Media Warehouse survey confirmed TVM as the leading TV station in the Maltese Islands with audiences of 57%, almost double that of the second placed local television station. The same survey revealed that the total viewership of foreign stations added together reaches less than half the viewership of TVM.