A new digital broadcasting tower sits atop Shwe Nay Chi Company’s Studio35.

MYAWADDY Television (MWD) will start broadcasting three new digital channels this week, said an official from Shwe Nay Chi Company, which is cooperating with the state-run TV station to launch the channels.

U Ye Naing Soe, the general manager of the Yangon-based Shwe Nay Chi Company, said the channels – MWD1, MWD2 and MWD3 – will start broadcasting this week and will be on the air daily from 7:00am to 11:00pm.

MWD1 is a digital version of the exiting analogue MWD channel with no changes to the programming. MWD2 is an entertainment channel that airs Myanmar movies and music programs similar to MRTV’s Movie 5 pay channel.

MWD3 offers a variety of entertainment-oriented programs similar to MRTV4.
“State-run Myanma Radio and Television (MRTV) is already broadcasting two of its channels, MRTV3 and MRTV4, digitally,” U Ye Naing Soe said. “MWD also plans to broadcast digitally. Once the broadcasts are established in Yangon they will be extended nationwide.”

U Ye Naing Soe said that starting this week the new channels will be broadcast free of charge to all township in the city of Yangon as well as to some outskirt areas.

However, he said that only those households equipped with digital TV receivers will be able to watch the new MWD channels.

“Some people might already have digital receivers to watch pay channels like Movie 5. They will also enable them to watch the new channels,” he said, adding that Shwe Nay Chi Company has no plans to import or sell the receivers.

“The receivers cost between K30,000 and K40,000 and are not widely available in the local market right now. But as the number of television viewers increases, more businesses will import them and they’ll become cheaper and more widely available,” said U Ye Naing Soe.

He said his company has not only undertaken the production of some of the programming for the new channels but has also been involved in establishing digital transmission facilities for MWD.

So far Shwe Nay Chi Company has installed a 400-watt digital transmitter and a tower capable of broadcasting signals in a 10-mile radius at its Studio35 building in Tarmwe township to air the new channels.

“We’ve set up the equipment in Yangon because MWD’s head office in Hmawbi township is too far away to reach all of Yangon’s townships,” U Ye Naing Soe said.

Shwe Nay Chi Company was founded in 1996 and established Studio35 to produce local TV programs and movie series. The company has been involved in the establishment of seven relay stations for MWD in recent years.