The government on Tuesday evening announced the winners of five private broadcasting licences, awarding the quintet digital free-to-air TV channels in a market heretofore dominated by state-run content.
Among the awardees was DVB Multimedia Group. Fortune International Company, Kaung Myanmar Aung Company, Mizzima Media and Young Investment Group were also selected.
The companies awarded the licences will have to pay 9 million kyats ($6,600) in satellite and broadcast equipment installation fees and an additional broadcasting fee of 20 million kyats per month.
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More than 40 hopefuls had applied for the “content provider” licences and a short-list of 10 companies was announced in early February.
The five new channels will be operated in partnership with Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), relying on the state-owned broadcaster’s transmission infrastructure to reach their audience.
MRTV announced in August that it would issue the five free-to-air licences. The channels will be able to use 145 relay stations across Burma, reaching nearly 90 percent of the country’s population of more than 51 million.
