Berita RTM Live Streaming – Watch Malaysia’s News Channel Online
Most television channels are launched to entertain or inform. Berita RTM was launched to correct – set up by the government specifically as a response to false information spreading faster than anyone could answer it.
Whether a state broadcaster is the right body for that job is a fair question. Either way, it produced Malaysia’s only round-the-clock public news channel. The live feed sits above, free to watch.
Full TV Malaysia Channel List
Below is the complete lineup. Pick a channel and start watching.
LIVE1TV3
LIVE2DS
LIVE3TV1
LIVE4DK
LIVE5TV2
LIVE6TV9
LIVE78TV
LIVE8TO
LIVE9BR
LIVE10SR
LIVE11TA
LIVE12BT
LIVE13ST
LIVE14TI
LIVE15TVS
LIVE16USI
LIVE17TAI
LIVE18TIC
LIVE19ST
LIVE20RI
LIVE21NW
LIVE22RK
LIVE23MYS
LIVE24FM
LIVE25CNA
LIVE26ARI
LIVE27WF
LIVE28AF
LIVE29AF
LIVE30BF
LIVE31EF
LIVE32FF
LIVE33HF
LIVE34IKI
LIVE35KF
LIVE36MF
LIVE37MF
LIVE38MF
LIVE39NF
LIVE40SF
LIVE41RF
LIVE42SF
LIVE43SF
LIVE44SF
LIVE45TFAbout the Channel
- Full name
- Berita RTM
- Also known as
- Saluran Berita RTM
- Operator
- Radio Televisyen Malaysia
- Owner
- Government of Malaysia
- Launched
- 2020
- myFreeview channel
- 123
- Picture
- HD
- Broadcast hours
- 24 hours
- Languages
- Eight
- Headquarters
- Wisma Berita, Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur
- Official platform
- RTMKlik
A Channel Built to Fight Fake News
The founding purpose was stated openly at launch, which is unusual for a broadcaster.
Ministers described the channel as a tool against misinformation – a place where claims circulating on messaging apps and social media could be checked against verified reporting. Its corporate slogan translates roughly as “trustworthy at RTM News”, and a dedicated fact-checking programme was built into the schedule from the start.
The reasoning behind it:
Speed
False claims spread within hours. A once-nightly bulletin cannot respond in time.
Reach
Terrestrial television still reaches households that verification websites do not.
Attribution
Naming and correcting a specific claim is more effective than restating the facts generally.
Repetition
A rolling channel can carry a correction through the day rather than once.
Fact-checking segments now run across RTM’s channels and social platforms, not only here.
News in Eight Languages
Malaysia has no other news channel that broadcasts in this many languages.
| Language group | Languages |
|---|---|
| National and international | Malay, English |
| Major communities | Mandarin, Tamil |
| East Malaysia | Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, Bajau |
The Bornean languages were added after launch, extending to a dedicated news channel what had previously been available mainly through TV Okey. For speakers of those languages, it meant national and international news reported in their own language for the first time on a channel devoted to it.
From Bulletins to Rolling News
Before this channel existed, Malaysian public television news worked on appointment. You waited for the evening slot, or you missed it.
A minister put the change plainly at launch: instead of waiting for the eight o’clock bulletin on TV1, you could now get the news whenever you wanted. That is the whole argument for a rolling channel, and it holds regardless of who is running it.
What the format allows in practice:
- Breaking coverage without interrupting other programming
- Repeated bulletins for viewers who join at any point
- Extended live events that a mixed schedule has no room for
- Regional segments produced with RTM’s state radio stations, giving local issues national airtime
- Parliamentary sittings carried live across full sessions
Four Names in Under Two Years
The channel’s identity took a while to settle, and the trail is easy to follow.
It began as BES, short for Berita Ehwal Semasa, during a brief trial broadcast. Within days it became RTM News. A few months later it was Saluran Berita RTM. The current name, Berita RTM, arrived with a new logo before the official launch.
Four names inside two years is unusual even by the standards of Malaysian broadcasting, where rebrands are common. The underlying operation stayed the same throughout – what changed was how RTM wanted it presented.
A Day of Rolling News
The schedule is built around repetition rather than variety.
At launch the channel committed to around twenty-five news slots daily, alongside business updates, weekly talk shows and magazine programmes. Primary news blocks anchored the middle of the day and the evening, with shorter updates filling the gaps between them.
Beyond the bulletins:
- Talk and analysis – panel discussions on policy, economy and current affairs
- Business coverage – daily market and economic reporting
- Fact-checking segments – examining claims circulating publicly
- Magazine programmes – longer features on single subjects
- Documentary – occasional, usually tied to a news theme
- Live events – ceremonies, official announcements, parliamentary sessions
Berita RTM, Astro Awani or Bernama TV?
Malaysia has three news channels, and viewers reasonably ask which to watch.
| Berita RTM | Astro Awani | Bernama TV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Government, via RTM | Astro, commercial | Bernama, national news agency |
| Cost | Free | Astro subscription, some free tiers | Free |
| Languages | Eight | Malay and English | Four |
| East Malaysian languages | Yes | No | No |
| Editorial position | Official sources first | Commercial, broader range | Agency-driven, wire style |
| Parliament coverage | Extensive | Selective | Selective |
All three report the same events. The differences show up in emphasis, in which stories get airtime, and in how much distance each keeps from official positions.
A practical approach used by many viewers is to check more than one. That is easier here than in most countries, since two of the three cost nothing.
Questions Viewers Ask
Who runs Berita RTM?
Radio Televisyen Malaysia, a department of the Malaysian government.
What channel is Berita RTM on myFreeview?
Channel 123.
Is it really 24 hours?
Yes. The channel runs continuously.
What languages does it broadcast in?
Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun and Bajau.
Why was the channel created?
It was launched as part of a government effort to counter misinformation, with verified reporting and fact-checking built into the schedule.
What was it called before?
BES, then RTM News, then Saluran Berita RTM, before settling on the current name.
Does it carry Parliament?
Yes. RTM broadcasts parliamentary sittings live, with this channel carrying full sessions.
How is it different from TV1’s news?
TV1 runs bulletins inside a mixed schedule. This channel carries news continuously, with nothing else competing for airtime.
Is Berita RTM free?
Yes, on terrestrial broadcast and on RTM’s own streaming platform.
Where can I find its reporting online?
RTM publishes a news site alongside the channel, and RTMKlik carries the live stream.