Using the popularity of television programmes as a benchmark of quality would be disastrous and create a “slippery slope of mediocrity”, according to Arts Council Malta’s director of strategy.
“The fact that people want something says absolutely nothing about how well produced it is,” Toni Attard said.
“People want fast food and they consume it; that doesn’t mean it’s a Michelin-star restaurant.”
Earlier this week, Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi raised eyebrows by suggesting that the government should not fund “high-brow” programmes while more popular ones were left to fend for themselves. “Programmes are meant to be watched,” he said during the launch of a report on quality in broadcasting. “It’s a serious problem if there are so-called quality programmes no one sees.”
Responding to the comments, Mr Attard said this way of thinking was contributing to the “dumbing-down” of television audiences.
“The audience aren’t dumb; they can judge quality and choose for themselves. But we need to give them the necessary tools and options to make that decision.”
Industry insiders have long admitted that Maltese TV, hampered by ever-present problems of budget and market size, was in need of a quality boost.
And while popular need not mean low quality, there was a sense that complacency, among both audiences and producers, was holding the sector back.
This year, the arts council rolled out a €280,000 fund aimed at promoting creative and innovative TV programmes. Portions of the fund, however, remained unused because judges could not find enough programmes of sufficient quality to satisfy the criteria.
“I think this is all down to the fact that no one wants to risk breaking the norm,” said one of the stars of a leading TV drama, who asked to remain anonymous.
“They would rather give audiences tried and proven, in most cases antiquated, storylines and methods than risk something new and unproven.”
This over-saturation of run-of-the-mill programming does a disservice to viewers looking for something different, according to Franco Rizzo, a media blogger and former director on Il-Klikka. “People have become more discerning and have more overseas options available,” he said.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t have soap operas, but there has to be something that counteracts them. People might start watching things they wouldn’t normally go for if the options are there.”
But Steven Dalli, producer of Strada Stretta, widely considered as one of the more ambitious series of recent years, believes the argument risks masking deeper problems in the industry.
“The question is how we are going to save local TV from its downfall,” he said. “I think we are failing to reach international quality standards mostly due to lack of budget or no budget.”
The way forward, according to Mr Dalli, is to start investing in productions that can be sold to international TV stations, primarily upgrading technical standards, and taking advantage of similar tastes in other Mediterranean markets.
“I think only after we invest can we have greater quality and as a result the stations will have enough revenue to fund other programs with higher budgets and better quality.”