This contrasts sharply with the average of 105,882 viewers that Mustaċċuni’s predecessor Serataron had managed to register during the previous BA survey last May.

A mere 0.6% of viewers rated Mustaċċuni as their favourite Maltese TV show, making it only the 23rd most popular show across all TV stations. This will come as a huge concern to the national broadcaster, particularly as Serataron was ranked second behind only the TVM news bulletin earlier this year.   

Serataron’s Friday night TV predecessor Xarabank was also extremely popular, often finding itself in the top spot of the BA rankings during its 23-year run, before it was eventually pipped by X Factor Malta. 

ONE TV appears to be the greatest benefactor from Mustaċċuni’s unpopularity. 

The Labour Party’s TV station, which airs the comedy show Min Imissu and Owen Bonnici’s Prime Time on Friday nights, registered an average viewership of 44,525 in those same time slots. This is a sharp increase from the average of 5,600 viewers it had registered in May 2021 when Serataron was still on TVM.

Presented by Ron Briffa and Ray Calleja, Mustaċċuni got off to a rocky start after its original format of a bootcamp-like competition among celebrities was panned on social media. 

Although the first episode had already aired, the producers decided to go back to the drawing board, placing the show on hiatus for two weeks and returning with a variety show format similar to that of Serataron, which was presented by Ron Briffa alone.

There was better news in the BA Audience Survey for TVM’s drama Nostalġija and music competition X Factor Malta, which were ranked as the nation’s joint most popular TV shows, behind only the TVM news bulletin.

Are you surprised by these findings?