# MRTV (TV network)

MRTV is a television network owned by Myanmar Radio and Television. It was launched on 3 June 1980 and is the first television network in Myanmar.

## History

Television service in Myanmar was first introduced in June 1979 as a test trial in Yangon following an agreement between Japan's Matsushita Electric and Burma's Heavy Industries Corp. for the production of television sets. MRTV (at the time Burma Television) was first launched on 3 June 1980, from Yangon on VHF channel 6, using a 10 KW transmitter broadcasting to a 70km radius, with broadcasts in colour (some sources erroneously say that MRTV started as a monochrome service) beginning on 1 November. Regular television service was formally launched in 1981 using the NTSC standard. The station was built with assistance from the Japanese government and had plans to extend its signal nationwide by the end of the decade. The service was also available in Mandalay from the beginning.
Burma Television started accepting commercial advertising in 1988. That same year, it reached 53,95% of the national population, rising to 82,45% after 1990.$^{:20}$ Until the founding of Myawaddy Television by the Ministry of Defense in 1995, it was the only television channel in the country.
In 2005, MRTV had 195 television relay stations throughout the country.
In October 2013, MRTV started broadcasting on digital terrestrial with DVB-T2 System, same as most ASEAN Countries. 18 TV channels and 5 Myanmar Radio channels are on MRTV multiplex system. MRTV plans the news interface, to the modern style of starting sequences and will have well-decorated news room. The broadcasting hours also increased to 18 hours (previously 10 hours). On February 15, 2015, MRTV adding 5 new TV channels to their Multplex Play Out system, such as MRTV-4, Channel 7, 5 Plus, MNTV and Channel 9.
On March 24, 2018, MRTV added 5 new TV channels to their Multiplex Play out System, such as Mizzima TV, DVB TV, Channel K, YTV and Fortune TV.
On January 16, 2024, MRTV updated its in-house channels and free-to-air channels into High Definition (HD) and added 5 new TV channel to their MRTV DTH System, such as Mahar HD, Mahar Esports HD, New Image Channel HD, Readers Channel and Maharbawdi Channel.

## Programming

Program's broadcast on Main MRTV HD channel.
| Year | English name | Original Name (Burmese) | Cast |
| 2015 | The Sun, The Moon and The Truth | နေရယ် လရယ် အမှန်တရားရယ် | Moe Yan Zun, Su Pan Htwar, Phone Thike, Nay Yan, Khin Zarchi Kyaw, |
| 2018 | Battle of Two Flowers | ပန်းနှစ်ပွင့်စီးချင်း | Paing Phyo Thu, May Barani Thaw, |
| 2018 | Kyamar Noon | ကြမ္မာနွံ | Min Oo, Yan Kyaw, Su Hlaing Hnin, May Thinzar Oo, Pho Thauk Kyar, Aung Khant Zaw, Mya Hnin Yee Lwin, Soe Nandar Kyaw, Aung Khine, Khin Moht Moht Aye, |
| 2018 | Beautiful Wives Club | ဇနီးချောများကွန်ရက် | Soe Pyae Thazin, Mya Hnin Yee Lwin, May Barani Thaw, Khin Thazin, |
| 2018 | Hospital Diary | ဆေးရုံမှတ်တမ်း | Aung Myint Myat, Swan Htet, Myat Thu Aung, Thura Htoo, Nwe Darli Tun, Khin Thazin, Gon Yi Aye Kyaw, |
Local Programming :
| 8PM Local News | since 1980 |
| English National News | since 2021 |
| 4PM Regional News | since 2024 |
| Soccer View | since 2015 |
| Weekly Sports Info | since 2015 |
| So Gya Mal, Praw Gya Mal | 1995-2016 |
| Family Quiz | since 2020 |
| Cute Children's Games | since 1997 |
| Friday Night Live Show | since 2020 |
| Saturday Night Comedy Show | since 2021 |
| Saturday Night Opera | since 2022 |
| Imports |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1985 |
| Life on Earth | 1986 |
| Cosmos: A Personal Voyage | 1987 |
| Telematch | 1988 |
| The Magic of David Copperfield | 1989 |
| Hawaii Five-O | 1982 |
| Charlie's Angels | 1983 |
| Little House on the Prairie | 1984 |
| The Six Million Dollar Man | 1985 |
| Love Boat | 1986 |
| Star Trek | 1987 |
| Knight Rider | 1988 |
| Automan | 1989 |
| Street Hawk | 1989 |
| Hart to Hart | 1989-1990 |
| Airwolf | 1990 |
| Journey to the West | 1991 |
| I Dream of Jeannie | 1992 |
| Bewitched | 1993 |
| Oshin | 1994 |
| The Equalizer | 1995 |
| Full House | 1995-1996 |
| Mr. Bean | 1996 |
| MacGyver | 1997 |
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | 1998 |
| Fortune Hunter | 1999 |
| Inspector Rex | 2000 |
| Monk | 2013 |
| Prison Break | 2014 |
| CSI: NY | 2015 |
| 24 | 2016 |
| Revenge | 2017 |
| Dream of the Red Chamber (HD Remaster) | 2019-2020 |
| Supernatural | 2019 |
| The Flash | 2020 |
| Grimm | 2020 |
| The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story | 2021 |
| Heroes | 2021 |
| Hudson & Rex | 2021 |
| Queen of the South | 2022 |
| Agent of Shield | 2023 |
| Friends | 2024 |

## Digital terrestrial television

| Channel | Picture format | EPG name | Programming | Note |
| MRTV MUX 1 |||||
| 1 | 1080i 16:9 | MRTV HD | Main MRTV Programming | |
| 2 | 1080i 16:9 | MRTV NEWS HD | MRTV News channel Programing | News & Current affairs Programming |
| 3 | 480i 16:9 | MRTV HLUTTAW | MRTV Parliament Channel Programming | LIVE Coverage of Assembly of the Union and House of Representatives Proceedings |
| 4 | 1080i 16:9 | MRTV NRC HD | MRTV NRC Channel Programming | Minorities Service. |
| 5 | 480i 16:9 | HTV (MRTV Farmer) | Htv Channel, MRTV Farmers' Programming | |
| 6 | 480i 16:9 | HTV Sports (MRTV Sports) | Htv Sports, MRTV Sports Programming | |
| 7 | 1080i 16:9 | MRTV ENTERTAINMENT | MRTV Entertainment Channel Programming | |
| 8 | 480i 16:9 | MITV | MITV Programming | Information, Cultural and Travel Programing in English. |
| 9 | 480i 16:9 | EDU | Myanmar Educations Channel Programming | |
| 10 | 480i 16:9 | M Entertainment Channel | M Entertainment Channel Programming | Commercial service |
| 11 | 480i 16:9 | MRTV-4 | MRTV-4 Programming | Commercial service |
| 12 | 480i 16:9 | Channel-7 | Channel 7 Programming | Commercial service |
| 13 | 480i 16:9 | 5-Plus | 5 Plus Channel Programming | Commercial service |
| 14 | 480i 16:9 | MNTV | MNTV Programming | Commercial service |
| 15 | 480i 16:9 | Channel-9 | Channel 9 Programming | Commercial service |
| 16 | 480i 16:9 | MWD | MWD Programming | |
| 17 | 480i 4:3 | Channel K | Channel K Programming | Commercial service |
| 18 | 480i 4:3 | YTV | YTV Programming | Commercial service |
| 19 | 480i 16:9 | Fortune TV | Fortune TV Programming | Commercial service |
| 20 | 1080i 16:9 | Mahar Movie HD | Mahar (TV channel) Programming | Commercial service |
| 21 | Audio only | Myanma Radio | Main Myanmar Radio National Service Programming | |
| 22 | Audio only | Upper Tineyinthar | Myanmar Radio Minorities Programming | |
| 23 | Audio only | Lower Tineyinthar | Myanmar Radio Minorities Programming | |
| 24 | Audio only | Test Radio | Test | |
| 25 | Audio only | MRI Channel | Myanmar Radio International Programming | |
| 26 | Audio only | Tha Pyay | Myanmar Radio 2nd Programming | |
| Relay Station | Transmitter Site | Frequency Channel (MUX 1) | Transmitter Power (ERP) | Engineering Status |
| Naypyitaw | MRTV Headquarters, Tatkon | E21 474 MHz | 3KW | |
| Naypyitaw | Pyinmana | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | |
| Yangon | MRTV Broadcast Center, Pyay rd, Kamayout tws | E31 554 MHz | 3KW | Only transmitter site keep transmitters on air for 24 hours. |
| Mandalay Sagaing | Mount Sagaing | E31 554 MHz | 3KW | |
| Momywa | Bodhi Ta Htaung | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | out of service |
| Ye U | ? | E24 498 MHz | 3KW | |
| Kalay | Kennedy peak | E25 506 MHz | 3KW | out of service |
| Kanbalu | ? | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | |
| Homalin | ? | E30 546 MHz | 300W | |
| Kyaukpadaung | Mount Popa | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Pyin Oo Lwin | ? | E30 546 MHz | 600W | |
| Meiktila | Near MPT Exchange office, Old Yangon-Mandalay rd, | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | |
| Minbu Magway | Minbu | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Pakokku | Near Hsu Gyi Pan Taung & Sāsana Perla Monestary, No.11 ward, Pakokku Tws. | E32 562 MHz | 3KW | |
| Taung Dwin Gyi | ? | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | |
| Pathein | Ma Nyein Hla Gone ward | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | |
| Kyaunggom | ? | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Bogale | ? | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Bago | Northern suburbs aera | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | |
| Taungoo | Near NewDay gas station, Old Yangon-Mandalay Rd. | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Pyay | Near Shwe San Taw Pagoda, Min Gyi Taung, | E26 514 MHz | 3KW | |
| Dawei | ? | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | |
| Myeik | ? | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Taunggyi | Near Shwe Bone Pwint Pagoda and View Point | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Lahio | Near Sāsanar Year 2500 Pagoda | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | out of service |
| Keng Tung | Loi Mwe Hill | E27 522 MHz | 300W | |
| Sittwe | Yangon-Sittwe rd | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | on reduced power. due to the collapse of main broadcast tower during Cyclone Mocha |
| Painetaung (Yanbye Island) | Mount Painetaung, Yanbye tws | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | out of service |
| Mawlamyine | Near Mon State Police Station, Taung Yoe Dan Rd. | E27 522 MHz | 3KW | |
| Belin | ? | E29 538 MHz | 3KW | |
| Pa An | Near Hla Ka Nyin Park, Hla Ka Nyin Rd | E30 546 MHz | 3KW | |
| Myitkyina | ? | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | |
| Bhamo | ? | E27 522 MHz | 1KW | out of service |
| Hakka | ? | E21 474 MHz | 500W | out of service |
| Loikaw | ? | E24 498 MHz | 1KW | |
* Relay Stations List on above, include only 35 Main Transmitter Site. there are over 150 relay stations across the country. that serves for the many other small towns and rural areas.
* Only Yangon transmitter site broadcast 24 hours. other relay stations usually shutdown their transmitter at 12am (Midnight) to save budget.
* Relay station's mark with RED Colour are out of service until further notice. Due to the ongoing Myanmar Civil War

## Satellite television

In order to reduce relying on the Relay stations and fight against anti-government TV channels, MRTV launch its own Free to View Direct to Home service called MRTV DTH on February 1, 2022. It offers 20 TV channels, using Intelsat 39 62°E and Thaicom 6 78.5°E. Which is some of the beams on those satellite are ranted by Government of Myanmar. All Channels from MRTV DTH system from both satellite are available for free of charge. However, most of the General Entertainment Channels may use Encryption/Scrambled system to prevent spill over.
| Channel number | Channel name | Channels resolution |
| 62.0°E Channel list |||
| 1 | MRTV HD | 1080i |
| 2 | MRTV NEWS HD | 1080i |
| 3 | MRTV NRC HD | 1080i |
| 4 | MRTV Parliament | 480i |
| 5 | HTV (MRTV Farmers) HD | 1080i |
| 6 | HTV Sports (MRTV Sports) HD | 1080i |
| 7 | MRTV Entertainment HD | 1080i |
| 8 | MITV | 480i |
| 9 | Test 09 | 1080i |
| 10 | Test 10 | 1080i |
| 11 | Channel K | 480i |
| 12 | Fortune TV HD | 1080i |
| 13 | M Entertainment HD | 1080i |
| 14 | MWD | 480i |
| 15 | Mahar HD | 1080i |
| 16 | Mahar Esports HD | 1080i |
| 17 | Test 17 | 1080i |
| 18 | Test 18 | 480i |
| 19 | Test 19 | 480i |
| 20 | EDU | 480i |
| A1 | Myanmar Radio | Audio only |
| A2 | Upper Tineyinthar | Audio only |
| A3 | Lower Tineyibthar | Audio only |
| A5 | Myanmar Radio International | Audio only |
| A6 | Tha Pyay Radio | Audio only |
| 78.5°E Channel List |||
| 3 | Fortune TV | 480i |
| 10 | Mahar | 480i |
| 11 | Mahar Esports | 480i |
| 13 | MRTV-4 | 480i |
| 15 | YTV | 480i |
| 16 | Channel K | 480i |
| 19 | Channel 9 | 480i |
| 20 | MRTV SPORT | 480i |
| 21 | Channel 7 | 480i |
| 22 | M Entertainment | 480i |
| 28 | 5-PLUS | 480i |