Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) is Myanmar’s state-owned broadcasting company that operates television and radio stations. The company’s history dates back to 1936, when radio broadcasting began in the country. Television broadcasting began in 1980. The station’s NRC channel broadcasts in 11 ethnic languages.
The broadcaster also has an international channel, Myanmar International Television (MITV). MRTV-4, one of MRTV’s assets, is operated jointly with the privately-owned Forever Group. Channel 7, another Ministry of Information channel, was formerly owned by the Forever Group.
Media assets
Television: National- MRTV, MRTV Hluttaw, MRTV NRC, MRTV Farmer, MRTV Sport, MITV, Education Channel, MRTV-4, Channel 7; International- Myanmar International Television
Radio: Myanmar Radio
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
MRTV is owned and operated by Myanmar’s Ministry of Information. The Broadcasting Law passed by Myanmar’s Parliament set the stage for a three-tier broadcasting system, including public service, commercial and community broadcasters. The law also provided the legal basis for MRTV to reform its operations with the goal of becoming an independent public broadcaster. So far, however, the broadcaster has made no progress, as the government continues to keep MRTV under tight control. This control has intensified since February 2021, as the government has stepped up its efforts to stifle criticism and amplify state propaganda.
MRTV is managed by a Director General (DG), two Deputy Director Generals (DyDG) and seven Directors. Together, they form the MRTV Board of Directors, which is chaired by the DG. The DG of MRTV is appointed by and responsible to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information.
Source of funding and budget
There is no publicly available information on MRTV’s annual budget. According to local journalists and experts interviewed for this report in May 2024, the majority of the station’s funding comes from the government. In recent years, MRTV has made efforts to generate funds through advertising, but these efforts have yielded very little.
Editorial independence
Although MRTV has attempted to reform its operations to become an editorially independent public broadcaster, its editorial policy continues to be dictated by the government through the Ministry of Information, which operates the station as a government department. Local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in May 2024 say the station’s programming is entirely shaped by ministry officials, who make key appointments to the station’s management. This control became even tighter after the 2021 coup, according to independent media experts interviewed for this report in May 2024.
MRTV has a code of ethics aimed at offering guidance to the station’s staff about their behavior with external entities and individuals. In 2020, the station adopted several guiding documents as follows: Broadcasting Guidelines that consist of general rules regarding the editorial coverage of certain topics and people, MPedia-Knowledge Book for MRTV News Reporting, a document that details the journalistic rules MRTV’s staff have to abide by, and the Fundamental Code of Broadcasting Ethics and Code of Conduct, another document that details rules on editorial coverage. These documents overlap to a large extent, with the same regulations appearing in more than one.
However, the station has no national statute guaranteeing its editorial independence and no independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate MRTV’s independence.
September 2024