Cap. 350 ст. 10Issue of broadcasting licences.

(1) Except as provided in this Act, freedom to broadcast and to receive broadcasts is guaranteed.

(2) No person may provide sound or television broadcasting services in Malta for Malta or any part thereof without the licence in writing of the Authority, nor may any person retransmit sound or television broadcasting services from Malta to any foreign state without the licence in writing of the Authority.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a broadcasting licence granted under this article may be issued under such terms, conditions and limitations as the Authority may deem fit.

(4) Licences may be of particular classes or description and shall in particular include licenses for:

(a) nationwide television services;

(b) nationwide radio services;

(c) community radio services;

(d) satellite radio services;

(e) satellite television services;

(f) such other services which may be broadcast or provided on or by an electronic communications network as defined in article 2 of the Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act as the Authority may by regulations prescribe.

(4A) In so far as nationwide television services are concerned, the Authority may issue the following categories of television broadcasting licences:

(a) a general interest broadcast content licence issued to any broadcaster other than the company referred to in sub-article (4C);

(b) a commercial broadcast content licence issued to any broadcaster;

(c) a parliamentary broadcast content licence issued to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(4B) The Authority may make regulations to give better effect to the provisions of sub-articles (4) and (4A) and may, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, make regulations in respect of the application process for all services and applications for licences, including establishing the applicable application and licence fees therefor and to establish evaluation criteria therefor.

(4C) Stations owned or controlled by the Government company referred to in sub-article (4D) or for which the said company is editorially responsible shall be licensed by the Minister. For the purposes of enabling the Authority to carry out its regulatory duties in terms of law, the Minister shall, as soon as possible from the date of issue of any licence to the aforesaid Government company, notify in writing to the Authority a copy of such licence. The provisions of article 119 of the Constitution of Malta, this Act and all subsidiary legislation made thereunder shall continue to apply to such licensee.

(4D) The Government may, through a company designated by the Minister by an order in the Gazette, as a company providing public broadcasting services, own, control or be editorially responsible for nationwide television and radio services mentioned in sub-article (4C): Provided that the Government may not own any broadcasting services or participate in their ownership, control or be editorially responsible for any such services other than through such company, and that no other company in which the Government has a controlling interest may own voting shares in a company providing any broadcasting services.

(4E) The following terms are defined as follows: "general interest objective service" means a television broadcasting service which takes on the obligation of broadcasting a specified quantum of programmes which are of general interest and which are considered by the National Broadcasting Policy as in force from time to time to be part of the remit of a public service broadcasting service. A general interest objective service may be either a generalist service or a niche service; "niche service" means a television broadcasting service which predominantly transmits programmes of a limited number of genres of a specialist subject matter; "generalist service" means a television broadcasting service which transmits a wide range of programme genre; and "commercial television broadcasting service" means a television broadcasting service that is either a generalist service or a niche service and that is not subject to the obligations of a general interest objective service; "parliamentary broadcast content licence" means a licence to broadcast plenary and committee sessions of the House of Representatives and any other activity taking place in the Parliament building organised by or in conjunction with the Office of the Speaker, through a nationwide radio service and or nationwide television service.

(5) A licence for any broadcasting service may only be awarded to a company regularly incorporated in Malta in accordance with the Companies Act:

Provided that:

(a) a parliamentary broadcast content licence may only be awarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(b) licences for community radio services may also be awarded to individuals who are ordinarily resident in Malta.

(6) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (2) and without prejudice to the provisions of sub-article (4D), the same organisation, person or company may concurrently own, control or be editorially responsible for more than one nationwide radio service and one nationwide television service, provided that:

(a) only one nationwide radio service may be licensed on the FM frequency to the same organization, person or company;

(b) not more than two generalist nationwide television services may be licensed to the same organization, person or company;

(c) the same organisation, person or company may not own, control or be editorially responsible for more than one nationwide radio or television service predominantly transmitting news and current affairs.

(6A) The same organisation, person or company may not own, control or be editorially responsible for more than one community radio service and any organisation which owns, controls or is editorially responsible for a nationwide radio service or a nationwide television service or such other service as mentioned in sub-article (4)(d) may not own, control or be editorially responsible for a community radio service.

(6B) Where an electronic communications network operator does not broadcast any programme content on a particular station for such period of time as the Authority shall determine, then, notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, no amount of transmission time may be devoted to teleshopping spots, advertising spots and other forms of advertising on that station. It shall be the duty of the said network operator to provide the Authority with programme schedules at reasonable intervals that the Authority may determine to enable it beforehand to exercise its powers under this sub-article. (6C) Repealed by Act XVI.2018. Fourth Schedule.

(6D) Local councils established under the Local Government Act may not, in terms of article 77 of the Local Government Act, own, control or be editorially responsible for any broadcasting service, including any community radio service.

(6E) For the purpose of this article the simultaneous transmission of the same broadcasting service on different media shall be considered as one broadcasting service.

(7) Where the licensee is a partnership no person may act as a director of such partnership unless he is qualified in terms of the Media and Defamation Act to be an editor of a newspaper.

(8) The licensee of a community radio service shall before the 15th January of each calendar year declare in writing to the Authority his intention to carry on providing broadcasting services on the frequency specified in his licence for another year.

(9) Licences for the services referred to in sub-article (1) shall include the conditions listed in the First Schedule to this Act:

Provided that community radio services shall be subject to the minimum of regulation consistent with the public interest and that such services shall be subject to conditions which, taken together, are less onerous than those provided for nationwide radio services.

(10) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a licence may in particular be subject to limitations regarding the maximum time, the minimum time, or both the maximum and the minimum time, which is to be given each day to broadcasts by the licensee, and as to the hours of the day in which such broadcasts are or are not to be made, and it shall be the duty of the licensee to comply with such limitations or other conditions.

(11) On the breach of any terms, conditions or limitations attached to a broadcasting licence, the persons committing such breach shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

(12) A broadcasting licence unless previously revoked by the Authority, shall continue in force for such period as may be specified in the licence, provided that such period shall not exceed eight years: Provided that a licensee may not earlier than one year before the expiration of a licence apply for a further licence, which licence shall not be unreasonably refused.