NET (Maltese TV channel)

NET Television (normally shortened to NET) is a free-to-air terrestrial television station in Malta owned by NET Media (previously known as Media.link Communications), the media arm of the Nationalist Party.^[1] It started broadcasting in 1998 from Pietà, Malta.

NET Television

Former NET Television logo
Country	Malta
Headquarters	Pietà, Malta
Programming
Language(s)	Maltese
Ownership
Owner	NET Media, previously known as Media.link Communications (Nationalist Party)
History
Launched	10 June 1998 (1998-06-10)
Links
Website	netondemand.mt
Availability
Terrestrial
Free-to-air	43 (UHF)
GO	102
Melita	102

NET Television is also one of the most watched television channels, with it being the 3rd most viewed channel in Malta (7.88% of the population) as of May 2019.^[2]

History

The government liberalised the television market in 1991 by granting licences to the two parties. Following the launch of Super One (now One Television) by the Labour Party, the Nationalist Party followed in 1998 with NET TV, precisely when the party lost at the polls to Alfred Sant.^[3]

In its early years, as of 2004, NET TV's parent company lost Lm1.9 million, without witnessing a break even period. It cut some of its losses between 1999 and 2002 to achieve some form of turnaround.^[4]

Criticism and fines

In November 2007, NET Television was fined, paying Lm600 in libel damages to architect Lawrence Mintoff, who had been libelled in a 13 November 1998 NET News bulletin. According to Mintoff, the bulletin carried footage of him entering the Labour Party headquarters (its rival channel One is owned by Labour), allegations that were claimed by Mintoff as being false.^[5][6]