Myanma Radio and Television. Radio service in Myanmar first came on air in 1936 during the British colonial era. Regular programming by Bama Athan (Burmese: ဗမာ့အသံ; "Voice of Burma") began in February 1946 when the British established Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS), carrying Burmese language national and foreign news and musical entertainment, knowledge reply and school lessons and English language news and music programming. After independence in 1948, it was named Myanma Athan (Burmese: ျမန္မာ့အသံ; also meaning Voice of Burma, but with the more formal term "Myanmar"). The service was renamed Myanmar Radio by the military government which came to power in 1988. The junta has also renamed the radio service's parent, BBS as Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) in 1997.