Xarabank withheld televoting broadcast on Labour’s request

The producers of PBS’s Xarabank have denied withholding the results of a televoting survey that asked who would win the next general elections, during the live interview with Opposition leader Joseph Muscat on 17 June.

Where’s Everybody said that the Labour party had asked the producers not to broadcast the results of the televoting survey live during the programme in a previous meeting, “because they [PL] said it would confuse the audience following what was being communicated.”

Where’s Everybody said it was planning to broadcast the results during its next live show, but was prompted in releasing a press statement after Labour organ KullHadd on Sunday expressed umbrage at the fact that survey was not broadcast.

“There are many instances in which we feel we have accept such conditions so that our invitees feel comfortable participating in our programmes. We understood the PL’s request that a live broadcast of the televoting results would mislead the audience’s perceptions and we accepted their request,” spokesperson Norman Vella said.

Vella said Where’s Everyboday accepted to broadcast the results in the first live programme to be broadcast on Friday 1 July. “We feel it was not right that Labour’s newspaper criticises us and demands the intervention of the Broadcast Authority over a request by the PL itself which Xarabank actually accepted.”