The reforms were announced during a joint press conference by IT and Investments Minister Austin Gatt and Culture and Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech.
They include the closure of FM Bronja, its current schedule being the last. Channel 12 will also be closed down. “It is clear,” said Dr Gatt, “that Channel 12 is not fulfilling its purpose of providing a broadcasting space for the community.”
PBS Chairman Andrew Psaila remarked that FM Bronja only had a peak time audience of 2,000 listeners while for some 80 per cent of the air time there were no listenership at all.
Part of the FM Bronja’s programming will be transferred to Radju Malta, which will remain, and negotiations are under way to have the rest of FM Bronja’s schedule transeferred to the University’s Campus FM radio. Radju Parlament will continue to transmit parliamentary sittings as well as its music programmes. There will, however, be a new emphasis on cultural programmes. Channel 22 will also stay on air, but work is being carried out to have more coordination with TVM in a bid to make better use of resources.
Dr Gatt also announced what he described as significant changes with regard to PBS’s production. For the first time, he said, there will be an official editorial board.
This board will be responsible for the quality of the programmes aired as well as the content of current affairs programmes and news bulletins. The editorial board will be independent of the PBS board of directors to which it will present a yearly report.
Dr Gatt added that PBS should outsource more of its air-time. “While it is not excluded that PBS may produce its own programmes, resources will be limited and therefore have to be employed where they are most needed.” For this reason, the minister explained, a procedure had been drawn up whereby the board of directors will publish a Programmes Statement of Intent (PSI) for the schedules to follow.
The PSI will be open both for in-house and external production studios. The proposals received will be screened by the editorial board and then handed over to the board of directors for financial consideration.
Following the model adopted with a number of public companies, government will be entering into a public service obligation contract (PSOC) with the PBS.
The categories upon which the government quantifies the PSOC are the following:
• Core PSOC – news, local sport, legally-required programmes
• Extended PSOC – other public obligations such as national events, public notices, etc.
• Commercial – all other programmes.
Dr Zammit Dimech explained that after the government has allocated funds to the PSOC in its yearly budget, the minister will then initiate a consultation process that will decide the government’s broadcasting requirements for the next two years.
Following this, PBS will make its own estimates for the production of these broadcasts. Half of the revenue, if any, generated from PSOC programmes will be kept by PBS. Government will take the other half and invest a quarter of it in the next year’s PSOC budget.
Dr Gatt stressed that PBS must be financially viable but that this should not come at the expense of the cultural and democratic functions of the company. PBS was also required to fulfil its constitutional obligations, to which will now be added international obligations related to EU governmental activity.
“These reforms,” said Dr Gatt, “follow the administrative restructuring announced recently. While safeguarding the financial interests of the company, we have tried to create a balance between what is commercially viable and cultural significance”.