BBC News Persian TV channel is marking 15 years of broadcasting with a special programme this afternoon.
Liliane Landor, Director, BBC World Service:
“As we mark 15 years of BBC News Persian TV, we recognise the trusted reputation for courageous and independent journalism the service has built and note that this journalism has never been needed more. We exist to serve audiences, and BBC Persian TV has consistently delivered for them; through times of uncertainty or change, day in, day out, as history is made, BBC Persian TV is there to record and report it.
Today, the day of the anniversary, (Sunday 14 January 2024), a special programme, 15 Years with Persian TV, will bring to the fore the channel’s duty to inform and entertain its audiences, the landmark coverage it has delivered over the past 15 years, and how it engages with its audiences and involves them in its programming.
The BBC’s Persian service started in 1940. Today, BBC News Persian reaches a weekly audience of 19.2m people – in Iran, Afghanistan, US, Germany, Canada and other countries around the world. Over 11m people watch BBC Persian TV every week (BBC Global Audience Measure 2023).
Liliane Landor, Director, BBC World Service:
“Furthermore, the team’s exceptional work is produced under the most extraordinary of circumstances as BBC News Persian colleagues and their families face ongoing harassment. We continue to condemn the threats whilst acknowledging this special 15th anniversary milestone.”
BBC Persian TV arrived on the Persian media landscape with its dynamic, modern look and sound, live news reports from around the globe, trademark in-depth analysis and insights, and a rich mix of content. Rozita Lotfi, Head of Programmes, BBC World Service Persian and Arabic channels, looks back at the launch of BBC Persian TV 15 years ago.
“On the day of the first broadcast, we were flooded with messages of support and excitement from our audience. It was a Wednesday, and some were saying they had taken the day off to witness the launch. I remember one audience member telling us that we proved Persian media too can have a TV channel with world-class standards.” Rozita Lotfi adds: “On the day the TV launched, none of us could have imagined that we won’t be able to return to Iran anymore and our safety, along with our families’ safety in Iran, would be jeopardised. We were soon to realise, each of us at BBC Persian, that this amazing achievement would come at a high personal cost for us.”
Presented by BBC News Persian’s Farnaz Ghazizadeh and Jamal Mousavi, 15 Years with Persian TV will highlight some of the key coverage that the channel has brought to its audiences.
They will discuss the editorial approach that guides the work of the service’s journalists who are banned from Iran, and look at how social media is used to engage with audiences in Iran and around the world and to verify news content. The channel’s role in informing its Afghan audiences and shaping up Afghanistan’s media will be another focus of the anniversary edition which will also bring messages from the channel’s audience in Tajikistan.
15 Years with Persian TV will be available on BBC Persian TV from 5.30 pm GMT on Sunday 14 January.
