Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; Persian: سازمان صداوسیمای جمهوری اسلامی ایران, romanized: Sazmân-e Seda-o-sima-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân, lit. 'Voice and Vision Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran') or Seda o Sima (Persian: صدا و سیمای, lit. 'Voice and Vision') for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran. It is also among the largest media organizations in Asia and the Pacific region and a regular member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries worldwide, including Italy, France, Belgium, Guyana, Malaysia, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, broadcasting 12 domestic television channels, four international news television channels, six satellite television channels for international audiences, and 30 provincial television channels countrywide, half of which are broadcast in minority-status languages in Iran, such as Azerbaijani and Kurdish, as well as the local dialects of Persian. IRIB provides 12 radio stations for domestic audiences, and through the IRIB World Service, 30 radio stations are available for foreign and international audiences.^{[citation needed]} It also publishes the Persian-language newspaper Jam-e Jam.

On 24 April 1940, Radio Iran was officially opened by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi – the then crown prince of Iran – with Isa Sedigh as the first head of the company. The channel broadcast five hour programs including news, traditional and western music, religious and sports programming as well as programs dedicated to economic and political discussion. according to estimates from the Statistical Center of Iran, in 1976 about 76% of urban population and 45% of rural population had access to the radio.

National Iranian Television officially opened on 21 March 1967 to create National Iranian Radio and Television. At that time, hardware equipment was at the disposal of the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone and its media was producing by Advertising and publishing department. In later years, radio and television expansion request across the country to create an integrated entity and from 1971 all facilities were given to National Radio and Television. The Shah personally appointed Reza Ghotbi as head of organization, and the duration of the programs increased quickly.

Before the 1979 revolution about 40% of TV programs were foreign, and imported and internal programs were usually modeled after foreign programs. After the revolution two TV channels (first program and second program) were active and with facility expansion, more than 95% of the urban population and about 75% of the overall population was able to receive TV signals.

During the Iranian Revolution, when Gholam Reza Azhari became prime minister of Iran, Touraj Farazmand was chosen for head of National Iranian Radio and Television after Reza Ghotbi.

The organization expanded greatly after the revolution, and in addition to internal and global broadcasting channels, it manages more than 100 electronic and written media.

A broadcasting budget of 4,000 billion Tomans was expected in the 2018 budget bill. However, according to Ali Asgari (the organization manager), a channel budget like that of BBC Persian consists of over 6,000 billion Tomans and IRIB needs a larger budget for managing 62 TV channels and 83 radio channels.^{[clarification needed]}