BBC Persian Television
تلویزیون فارسی بی بی سی
BBC Persian Television (Persian: تلویزیون فارسی بیبیسی) is the BBC's Persian language news channel that was launched on 14 January 2009. The service can be accessed through satellite television, and is aimed at the 100 million Persian speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
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The annual budget of £15 million is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but as with the BBC World Service which is also funded by the FCO, the BBC remains editorially independent, though some Iranian media have accused the British Government of using the service as a propaganda tool. The Iranian government issued a statement denouncing the new service as 'suspicious and illegal', and 'working against the interests of the Islamic Republic'.
ControversiesIn June 2009, BBC Persian's Hot Bird satellite broadcasts along with those of BBC Arabic Television, other BBC services, and those of other broadcasters were experiencing interference due to a jamming signal originating from within Iran. In response, BBC Persian started transmission on other satellites and increased their broadcast hours in order to combat the interference
The channel has been criticised by Iranian state television of encouraging "illegal" rallies and manipulating the Iranian people against the Islamic Republic, a claim which the BBC denies.
The jamming resumed on 20 December 2009 soon after BBC Persian began extended coverage of the protests resulting from the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, and on 28 December 2009, BBC Persian ceased its transmission from the Hot Bird 6 satellite., however transmissions continued from the Telstar 12, Eutelsat W2M and Atlantic Bird 4A satellites.
BBC Persian returned to a different frequency on Hot Bird 6 on 26 May 2010, after a period of test transmissions. After a new jamming in February 2011 on Hotbird, BBC Persian showed for some months only a test card along with the audio of their service. Since February 2012 BBC Persian is back on Hotbird again.
Also, due to the ban on foreign reporters in Iran, the news service currently relies on a significant amount of user-generated content, often taken with mobile phones.
AwardsIt appears that Iran's presidential elections in June 2009 and what followed greatly elevated BBC Persian TV's stature and importance. It became the channel that extensively covered the events inside Iran for the Iranians inside Iran. Outside of Iran, the channel was therefore recognised accordingly.
On 4 November 2009, BBC Persian TV was honoured for the "Clearest coverage of a single news event – television" by the Association for International Broadcasting at its annual global media excellence awards at a gala event in London, England. The award was for "the elections that shook Iran". It was a half hour narration of the unrest that developed in the streets of Iran immediately after the disputed June presidential elections.
On 20 November 2009, BBC Persian TV was honoured at the 12th annual Hot Bird TV Awards in Venice, Italy. It was named best news channel for its portrayal of unbiased news in a complex and fast-moving environment.
ScheduleThe channel broadcasts from London for eight hours every day. Programmes cover a variety of subjects including current affairs, documentaries, culture, science, business and the arts. Entertainment programmes such as BBC Sound and Top Gear are broadcast with Persian dubbing.
Programs- KOOK (TV series)
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