Small island, big voices: Inside Malta’s podcasting boom

In recent years, Malta has witnessed a remarkable surge in podcast production and listenership, mirroring global trends, yet with a distinctly local flavour. From current affairs and cultural discussions to comedy and personal development, Maltese podcasts are diverse and rapidly growing in both number and popularity. This burgeoning medium is not only reshaping how Maltese people consume content, but also providing a platform for voices that might otherwise go unheard.

Sarah Muscat Azzopardi speaks to local podcasters Trudy Kerr, Melanie Kelly and Peter Grech about the surging popularity of podcasts in Malta.

Presenter and DJ Trudy Kerr has hosted a variety of podcasts but is best known for ‘The SHE Word – Conversations women rarely have, but really should’. Having started her media career in 2013 as a radio DJ and TV presenter/producer on One, her voice is certainly not a new one, and many are familiar with her work as a drive time radio DJ on XFM, alongside presenting events and interviewing.

Her journey into podcasting, however, is more recent: “When COVID hit and the radio station had to close, I moved across to the podcast platform. I was fortunate to be on the platform at the start of podcasting’s popularity in Malta and have watched the channel grow. Some shows do very well and will continue to do so, while others have come and gone,” she shares.

Trudy goes on to reveal that her podcast, The SHE Word, emerged from an interview on The Interviewer – another channel in which she interviewed Maxine Attard, who shared her account of a recent miscarriage. “The response was overwhelming, and it became apparent that there was a serious need for conversations about the topics that affect women, but aren’t addressed on mainstream platforms,” she shares.

Similarly, for Melanie Kelly, presenter of Maltese language podcast ‘Kellymni – Il-Podcast ta’ Gwida’, it was also a love of radio that drew her to podcasting. “My three-year stint on XFM with discussion show ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ which I used to video record and upload was like the first podcast-style show on social media, so when Content House, the owners of Gwida, approached me with the idea of a podcast, I immediately said yes,” she explains.

Gwida.mt is Malta’s most popular portal in the entertainment and lifestyle segment, with a social media reach of over one million people every week. Riding on the popularity of Gwida.mt, an average Kellymni podcast reaches over 100,000 viewers per show, with some podcasts attracting as many as 200,000 viewers per programme. Gwida was originally owned by the state television when the Gwida magazine, a popular weekly publication in Malta, was first launched in 1961. The brand – among Malta’s best-known media brands – has since become a well-known part of Maltese popular culture, offering a mix of entertainment, celebrity news, and television programming. It was later bought by Content House, one of Malta leading’s media companies, with the objective to exploit the popularity of the brand online. The company first launched Gwida.mt in 2019, and in 2023 launched Kellymni, the first video podcast in this genre. Both digital platforms became an instant hit, attracting mass following on social media. Kellymni has also managed to attract significant advertising and sponsorship interest from leading commercial brands, as its significant audience is certainly proving to be a draw.

Melanie Kelly always thought Kellymni would be a hit, but has been left impressed by the significant following it has amassed: “Since Kellymni started, I feel that it has matured, gaining a lot of interest and increasing in popularity,” Melanie continues, describing the show as a “very intimate one-to-one interview-style podcast where I delve deeper into my guests and explore stories, topics and feelings which they have never really divulged. This really shows personalities’ human side, and creates a community vibe with listeners, who feel they are part of the show.”

Peter-Jan Grech, meanwhile, is the host of ‘Unbrandme’, the BRND WGN podcast where he unpacks the stories of brand owners, entrepreneurs and disruptors to understand how their life stories and lessons have impacted the brands and businesses they build and lead. As an avid podcast listener, he admits, “I never imagined myself hosting one before my colleagues suggested it.” Despite this, having spent much of his professional life in discovery workshops, working with entrepreneurs to understand what sets their brand apart, Peter says the transition to the format was surprisingly natural. “The podcast is still in its infancy so we’re still learning, however, besides a few tweaks, we’re trying to be as consistent as possible despite the temptation to change.”

Sharing his motivation behind the podcast, he continues, “years working with so many great clients at BRND WGN has fuelled our belief that better people make better brands, and better brands make a better world. So, we search for these better people, to see what sets them apart and what makes them uncommon, uncovering the stories behind their foundation, their successes and failures, and the lessons they learnt along the way,” adding that the feedback has been extremely positive.

Commenting on how the Maltese podcasting landscape has evolved, Peter believes that the format is getting more and more popular, and “it seems like there’s a newcomer every week.” In his view, the local podcast scene allows creators to serve localised content to new niches like never before – niches which were previously underserved. “The format also allows more freedom to producers to deliver content that is not dependent on mainstream networks or ad revenue but is more in touch with listeners directly,” he maintains.

Trudy agrees, affirming that podcasting is relatively easy to create and bypasses a great deal of the restrictions of mainstream media. “The evolution of mobile media has naturally been the decline of more traditional channels, and podcasting has been a platform to really benefit from this. A podcast can be viewed or listened to anywhere at any time,” she says.

As for the topics and formats that resonate most with Maltese listeners, Trudy believes that Maltese content in the Maltese language will always be popular with locals. Apart from being valuable and significant, she points out, “by its very nature, it also bypasses a significant number of censorship restrictions due to the language.” Admitting that she is occasionally asked why ‘The SHE Word’ is not in Maltese, Trudy smiles, “I have two answers to that – first, because my Maltese isn’t the best and the show would take at least five hours to film; and second, because the issues discussed affect women all over the world and the English language gives the show a far greater reach. But I would love to see a continued growth in Maltese language content.”

This plays to Melanie’s strengths, who believes that “Maltese people enjoy podcasts such as ‘Kellymni’ because they appreciate getting to know personalities they see frequently on a deeper level. I suppose others also enjoy light-hearted podcasts that shock with the language and profanity used.”

For Peter, it’s not necessarily about success in numbers but rather, about really conquering a niche. “Similar to global trends, the shows that host guests also benefit from the advantage of tapping into the guests’ own popularity and network, making them more successful,” he adds, noting that apart from this, most audiences are looking for learnings, insights and entertainment. “If producers are able to deliver at least one of those consistently yet in a unique way, there’s a clear path to success.”

Still, despite podcasting’s growing popularity and clear benefits, that’s not to say the medium doesn’t have its own set of challenges. “Running a professional podcast takes a huge investment to consistently deliver high-quality episodes from an audio and visual standpoint, but also a big investment in talent and hours for research, editing and networking,” Peter explains, stating that, without the team behind ‘Unbrandme’, the show wouldn’t run.

“Monetising the podcast solely on listeners is a pipe dream and we have resisted accepting advertising content for now to stay independent,” he continues, noting that the small local audience size poses a challenge to any producer to commercialise niche local podcasts to the extent of becoming a full-time job.

For Trudy, creating a successful podcast channel is far more than turning up with a camera and a hot topic. “It is easy to forget that local productions sit on a global platform and therefore are still competing for our attention against the best in the world. Therefore, there are three areas that should be seriously considered before embarking on a podcast,” she maintains, listing production quality, original and engaging content, and the right host, who has to be natural and confident in front of a camera or mic.

The growth of podcasting has also impacted traditional media consumption in Malta, which also reflects changes in the island’s demographic. “Malta itself is changing,” says Trudy, pointing out that the island looks very different to when she first arrived, 18 years ago. “Today, one in four of the population are foreigners and most likely not to speak Maltese, and unless local media embraces and accounts for this demographic, the trend of growth for online media will continue, as it has done over the past years. That said, the ideal platform integrates local culture with an awareness of the Malta we live in today.”

In Melanie’s opinion, online content and podcasts are the way forward. “Television will always be television, however, online is slowly taking over, which makes sense since in our fast-paced life, we do not always sit in front of a TV at a scheduled hour but can spare some free time to enjoy a show in our own time,” she says. Looking to the future, the presenter adds, “online shows are on the rise and we shall see quite a few popping up in the near future. With regard to my podcast, I hope the viewers will continue enjoying them as much as I do.”

Certainly, Trudy believes that some podcasts have the longevity to continue, whilst others will live out their lifespan and retire. “We are aiming to continue having ‘Conversations Women Rarely Have, But Really Should’ until we run out of things for women to talk about, so I don’t think we will run out of topics any time soon,” she smiles.

As for Peter, looking ahead, he says, “I’m excited about how the future will unfold. I think we’re still only seeing a very embryonic landscape and there’s bound to be some exciting opportunities ahead. I also believe the major local platforms will be forced to enter this space as an opportunity to reach into new audience groups specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha.”