Myawaddy TV (Burmese: မြဝတီ ရုပ်မြင်သံကြား, abbreviated as MWD) is a military-owned television network in Myanmar, based in Yangon and Naypyidaw. Myawaddy TV has been widely criticized for broadcasting pro-SAC (State Administration Council) news.
History
Myawaddy TV was launched on 27 March 1995 to commemorate Myanmar's Armed Forces Day, marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.[1] Its programming is also broadcast via the AsiaSat 2 satellite. MWD was the second television station in Myanmar, following MRTV.[2] In 2021, it was used to formally announce the military takeover of Myanmar.[3][4][5] In response to the coup, Facebook removed the page of the military-owned Myawaddy TV Network for violating its policy prohibiting organizations that promote hate speech or violence.[6] This was later followed by YouTube, which terminated their channel along with MRTV for similar reasons.[7]
Expansion
In 2012, following the completion of a new TV station in Naypyidaw, MWD launched six new digital channels and extended its broadcasting hours on these channels to better compete with other local television stations.[8]
Channels
All channels from the MWD television network are 24-hour free-to-air channels. Some channels are transmitted in both analogue and digital systems. The current channels of the MWD television network are:
